PlayStation CEO Questions Xbox Series S Strategy

Sony recently revealed the price for its PlayStation 5 digital and PlayStation 5 disc edition to be $399 and $499, respectively. While they will release two editions of the next-gen console, the only difference between the two is a physical disc drive.

Sony’s archrival Microsoft, on the other hand, will release two versions of their next-gen console with starkly different specifications. The higher-end Xbox Series X  will cost $499 while the lower-end Series S will cost $299.

Even though Xbox had announced its price earlier, Sony was confident about their market approach. Thus, Sony opted not to undercut their competitors on the pricing front. Instead, they are firm in their belief that their market strategy would gain them the upper-hand in the war.

In a recent interview with Japanese website ‘AV Watch’, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan pointed out the flaws in the Xbox sales model.

PlayStation model better than Xbox

Jim went on record to say that Sony had decided on the prices of their console at the beginning of the year. He added that it was a ‘difficult year’ and they couldn’t find the right timing.

The website asked Jim why PlayStation had gone for a digital version over a cheaper, lower-end version. He replied that the biggest reason was the price point of $399. He confessed that the number holds a special place for PlayStation since they had launched the PS4 at the same price in 2013.

Another reason was the growing digitization of the world, where the number of customers who purchase digital editions of games is much higher than the ones who go for physical discs.

“Introducing low-spec consoles for a particular price range hasn’t produced very happy results in industry history.”

Furthermore, he added that Sony had thought about it a lower-end iteration of the console, but looking at the market response to their competitors, they never went ahead with it. Instead, they decided on delivering a long-lasting product to their customers.

Therefore, Jim feels pretty confident that the PlayStation 5 is going to outperform its competitors. While we will have to wait for the product to officially launch, the demand for pre-orders seems to have confirmed his hunch.

[Quotes have been translated using Google Translate]