- 0-20%: Unlikely - Lacks credible sources
- 21-40%: Questionable - Some concerns remain
- 41-60%: Plausible - Reasonable evidence
- 61-80%: Probable - Strong evidence
- 81-100%: Highly Likely - Multiple reliable sources
85%
Highly Likely
Almost exactly three months ago, renowned AMD leaker Kepler_L2 claimed that Sony's current BoM (bill of materials) for the upcoming PlayStation 6 console was around $760, thus floating the possibility that the console could be priced at $699 with an initial subsidy from the Japanese corporation. Fellow leaker Moore's Law Is Dead reported a very similar BoM ($743) just days later.
However, the component crisis is worsening almost weekly. We've seen that Valve was forced to launch its Steam Machine at $1049, about $300 more than the price it originally targeted, and Microsoft also had to substantially increase the pricing of its Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles again.
It is in this complex economic scenario that Kepler_L2 just delivered another batch of bad news in a post on the NeoGaf board: the bill of materials for the PlayStation 6 went up by roughly $200 since, thus coming very close to the psychological threshold of $1,000.
The leaker also shared additional details, positing that a delay still isn't a logical move from Sony's side: if component prices for RAM and storage keep getting worse (and it seems like they will), delaying would make little sense; if they somehow stabilize, there's no point in delaying the console anyway. He added that at this point, a $999 Digital-only PlayStation 6 may well be the best-case scenario for consumers. By the way, Kepler_L2 also reckons the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch 2 will soon need another price increase, at this rate. As a side note, the leaker also relayed that an OLED version of the PlayStation Portal should still launch later this year.
Of course, as console gamers know all too well, no major home console has ever launched at or above $1,000. The closest Sony itself came was the PS3's famously painful $599 debut in 2006, which contributed directly to a sluggish start for that generation. A $999 PlayStation 6 would shatter that historical ceiling entirely, and that's the best-case scenario, by Kepler_L2's own reckoning. Of course, Microsoft will face the same issues with Project Helix.
The question is whether cutting-edge gaming is destined to become a hobby for the wealthy, given the hardware and software prices that are taking place across the industry. That would be very unfortunate and probably also cause the market to shrink for the first time in many, many years.
About the author: With over two decades of experience in gaming journalism, Alessio Palumbo has led the gaming vertical at Wccftech since August 2015. He started working at a young age for Italian websites like Everyeye.it, Gamestar.it, Nextgame.it, and Multiplayer.it before kickstarting the indie English-language publication Worlds Factory as its founder and Editor in Chief. In the last decade, he has coordinated the overall output of Wccftech's gaming section, managed PR relations, assigned reviews, produced daily news coverage, edited gaming content as needed, and delivered game reviews. Arguably, his trademark content is the long series of exclusive developer interviews that have been cited by Wikipedia and by the biggest news media and gaming publications. His passion for technology also makes him knowledgeable when it comes to gaming hardware and tech. His favorite genres include RPGs, MMORPGs, and action/adventure games.
Follow Wccftech on Google to get more of our news coverage in your feeds.
