Playstation 5 release date, price, specs: Is $1,000 the right price for the next-generation console?

After many information leaks and patents surfacing on the internet, Sony confirmed that PlayStation 5 is in the making a few months ago. And recently a Swedish online store has listed PlayStation 5.

Sony has yet to announce other key details about PlayStation 5 including its specific release date and actual cost. This left fans relying on varying forecasts of analysts and on leaked information to predict how much they are going to spend on the upcoming console.

PlayStation 5 price, pre-order: Console’s cost estimated at over $1,000

The Swedish online store Media Markt is the source of the latest buzz around PlayStation 5 after it listed the upcoming console on its website. Based on the information of the page, people can now pre-order the console although they have to do so without really knowing yet how much it will cost.

Media Markt accepts PlayStation 5 pre-orders for 9,999 Swedish kronor or around $1,036 based on the latest foreign exchange rate. The website does have a disclaimer though that the price and product information they provided is “preliminary” and can be changed in the future. The said price point is significantly higher than what has been told in leaks and industry analyst forecast.

In 2018, a leak spread online likely taken from PlayStation 5 dev kits that Sony distributed to developers in various regions. So far, it has been partially accurate and got some of the CPU and GPU details right. It mentioned that the upcoming console is slated to be priced at $500, which seems like a small adjustment. Then, earlier this year, industry analyst Michael Pachter said he eyes the gaming rig to cost around $800.

PlayStation 5 specs, release date: What price tag to expect?

Since PlayStation 5 is a next-generation console, there are many variables to consider in predicting its final market price. But what gaming fans can use for now are the confirmed specs.

Sony PlayStation lead systems architect Mark Cerny confirmed to Wired that its CPU is a 7-nanometer AMD Ryzen based on Zen 2 microarchitecture. AMD will also make its GPU based on the Radeon Navi family that is known for ray tracing. Cerny also emphasized that PlayStation 5 is going to sport SDD that is more expensive than HDD. These major upgrades are aimed to support next-level features such as 8K graphics and 3D audio.

The company has also previously stated that PlayStation 5 is designed for hardcore gamers. That could mean the niche of gamers that would not mind spending as much as $1,000 for a console.

As mentioned, Sony wants to keep the PlayStation 5 release date a secret but confirmed it would not happen this year. With the amount of confirmed information at this point, many are anticipating the console to launch in 2020.

Photo from Marco Verch via Flickr licensed under CC BY 2.0.