The PlayStation 6 has yet to be officially announced, but the current price hikes for components like RAM and SSDs are making it challenging to predict how much the system will cost when it launches in 2027 or 2028. A "reasonable" price shouldn't be expected, according to known Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter, as the days of $500 consoles are likely over. However, an inevitably smaller gaming future could be saved by game streaming.
"The console manufacturers can afford to bid up the price of RAM... but the console price will stay the same [or go up] and everybody’s happy," Pachter noted in a recent video. However, that "happy" ending comes with a significant catch: with Sony securing the RAM required for its next-gen system in a market that has become one for the highest bidder, the PlayStation 6 could easily hit the $1,000 mark.
The high price of hardware, including multiple price increases for current-generation systems like all PlayStation 5 models and Microsoft selling very few Xbox systems after leaning into Xbox Game Pass, has accelerated a process that Pachter believes started a few generations back, with each console cycle becoming smaller. While a PlayStation 6 launching at a $1,000 price could be the breaking point that puts an end to console cycles, gaming could still have an affordable future: game streaming.
"I think that console prices are going to keep going up as long as demand for the components goes up for other reasons. So AI... I think that the solution to that is get rid of consoles and go to streaming games on TVs," Pachter argued. "Somebody's going to figure out a way to play console games without a console, then we don't care. I've been predicting the end of the console life cycle for over 10 years. Each one is going to be smaller than the one before. One of the drivers of that is higher prices."
With Microsoft targeting a different audience with its Project Helix, if the PlayStation 6 will become an unreasonable luxury, which some may not see as a true upgrade, launching at a very high price far above the cost of its components currently estimated at around $750, there's no denying that the console market landscape will shift significantly. However, as things stand, it remains to be seen whether the future of gaming will indeed move towards a streaming model as Pachter predicts.
It should be noted that Pachter has a bit of an infamous reputation among gamers due to his wild predictions that often miss the mark. Four years ago, he claimed that GTA VI would take players "all over the world", whereas it is now quite clear that the game will stick to the state of Leonida, a fictional version of Florida. Later in 2022, he bet that Game Pass would reach 100 million active subscribers following Microsoft's acquisition of Activision Blizzard, but that happened a long time ago, and Game Pass adoption has continued stagnating. The latest claim from the end of February was that Microsoft has "already blown" its next Xbox console due to betting everything on the Game Pass model.
We'll see how that pans out. Nonetheless, gamers definitely have some turbulent times ahead.
About the author: Francesco De Meo has been covering video games and technology since 2012, starting his career at small outlets like Gamersyndrome and GeekSnack. After joining Wccftech gaming section in 2015, he quickly expanded his video gaming coverage with in-depth reporting, interviews with iconic industry figures such as Grasshopper Manufacture founder and No More Heroes creator Goichi "Suda51" Suda, Resident Evil series creator Shinji Mikami, Team NINJA's president and Nioh series director Fumihiko Yasuda, and Silent Hill creator Keiichiro Toyama, reviews and on-the-ground coverage of major industry events such as Gamescom and E3. When he's not reporting or reviewing, Francesco can be found playing the genres he loves most, spending time with his six cats, reading, writing music, playing guitar and drumming for his progressive rock band.
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