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Sony said it is The next-gen PlayStation 5 console would launch in November priced at R11 999 and R9 999 for a drive-less version as it will take on Microsoft’s new Xbox console.
The pricing announcement sets the stage for a year-end showdown between Xbox and PlayStation, as consumers continue to flock to consoles optimized for games that offer exclusive titles.
Microsoft said last week that the Xbox Series X would go on sale on November 10 at a price of $ 499.99 and the less powerful Xbox Series S at a price of $ 299.99, as Xbox is betting on offering options consumers will outweigh the risks they take when launching two different devices at the same time. The US price for the PS5 with a disc drive is $ 499.99, while the discless version is $ 399.99.
Read: Xbox Series X Launches In South Africa Nov 10; this is what it will cost
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are the same price, but the $ 399.99 PlayStation 5 Digital Edition “offers a substantial discount at no cost in terms of performance or hardware, in addition to the disc drive,” said Guilherme Fernandes, analyst. from the gaming analytics firm. Newzoo.
Hardware pricing decisions have won and lost generational console battles as manufacturers seek to build the critical mass of consumers that will attract game developers to their platform.
Sony, which is stylistically moving away from recent generations with the predominantly white PlayStation 5, offers the drive-less version as digital downloads become standard.
Upcoming titles released for the console include Square Enix’s exclusive Final Fantasy XVI platform, a new God of War title from Sony’s Santa Monica Studio, and a Harry Potter RPG.
The announcement bolsters the PlayStation lineup following the reveal of a host of titles, including Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales from in-house studio Insomniac Games in June. That title will also be available on PlayStation 4, Sony said.
Exclusive
Sony’s line of “fantastic” games shows that it is “betting more aggressively on exclusives” with “Microsoft focused on cheaper entry prices to bring users to the Xbox ecosystem,” said Serkan Toto, founder of the consultancy of the Kantan Games game industry.
With both companies looking to generate recurring revenue, Sony said that PlayStation Plus subscribers will have access to a catalog of titles from the old PlayStation 4.
Gaming industry revenue has skyrocketed among stay-at-home consumers due to the Covid-19 pandemic, helping propel Sony shares 46% from their March lows.
See you this November! pic.twitter.com/KCZiJ97SuA
– PlayStation South Africa (@PlayStation_SA) September 17, 2020
Heading into the year-end shopping season, “you’re balancing a weak economy with a greater need for people to entertain themselves at home,” said Carolina Milanesi, an analyst at Creative Strategies.
The PlayStation 5 will go on sale on November 12 in the United States, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea and on November 19 in the rest of the world, including South Africa. – Reported by Sam Nussey and Supantha Mukherjee, (c) 2020 Reuters
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