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Kyuu said:
The PS6 portable and its "Vita TV" version may not be much less expensive than the home console version. Current portable PC's are very expensive, and the handheld is expected to blow them out of the water in specs. The ROG Xbox Ally X cost $1000 and may increase to $1200-$1400 by the time the much more capable PS6 handheld is launched (it hasn't yet got a price hike, MS and Asus may cancel it soon). It goes without saying, Sony can get components at cheaper prices and sell their consoles at a small loss, not to mention that unlike ROG Ally, PS6P can make Sony money through software, subscriptions etc. But even with all that in mind, I don't expect the handheld to cost less than $900 at the absolute minimum. A Vita TV equivalent + a controller won't save more than $75~ I think the handheld has a decent chance at being the best selling SKU, because portability may be seen as a bigger selling point than whatever the PS6 home console offers, and being about $200 cheaper somewhat helps too. |
You don't think a PS Vita TV style device will be cheaper than the PS5? Remember how cheap the PS Vita TV was? It was just a cheap handheld chipset in a small plastic shell. No need for any expensive cooling systems or materials. I know costs are a lot higher now but all the materials used to create the bulky ps5 all add up to make an expensive product. 550$ should be doable easy, even with expensive RAM and storage. They would save so much on materials and shipping.
Shadow1980 said:
And I'm pretty sure they don't care. There's no way PS6 & Helix aren't at least $1000 without being loss leaders. Outside of maybe Nintendo, consoles are shifting to a high-end luxury product. As prices of current-gen consoles have increased, so has the average income of console buyers. Here's how much things shifted in the U.S. in just under a four-year span according to Circana:
With Sony's impending shift to all-digital, they'll be making substantially more profit per game, they're probably hedging their bets that whatever they lose in volume they'll make up for in per-customer profitability. Even if they lose half their customer base to a combination of people unable to buy a PS6 because of the price, unwilling to buy a PS6 because of the price, or unwilling to buy a PS6 because it doesn't support physical games, if they're making twice as much profit per customer, it all comes out even. And we're seeing this in a lot of other places. Live events like concerts and wrestling shows have seen ticket prices explode much faster than the rate of inflation. In terms of sticker price, a single ticket to a regular Monday Night Raw now costs almost a much as what it cost me and three friends to see the Royal Rumble in 2010, for the same seats (about three rows up from the floor). Admission to Disney World/Land has outpaced the rate of inflation by a significant amount. More and more people are being priced out of more and more things. About the only things that haven't outpaced the rate of inflation are movie tickets, TV sets, CDs, and video game software. More and more corporations would rather make more money off of fewer customers these days, preferring to appeal to people with at least six-figure incomes. If they lose half their customers but make twice as much per customer off the remaining half, they're still making the same amount of money. And those people who are better off will still likely be in a better position to spend on lower- to mid-level luxuries in tough economic times, as opposed to lower-income people who will just forgo those things entirely if things get worse because they simply can't afford it. I live off of $23k/year. Definitely low-income. Fortunately I have just myself to take care of. If I saved up and used tax return money, I could afford to buy a PlayStation one year and an Xbox the next like I did this generation and last (got a PS4 & PS5 both at launch, got an XBO & XBS the following year), but now I'd only be able to afford one even if I wanted (and if the Helix doesn't support physical, I'm done with Xbox as well).  Shadow of the Void · Jul 10, 2026 at 11:05 AM">
 It's no wonder why more and more of them are increasingly disinterested in making the fun things in life affordable for lower-income households. Hell, even necessities are still getting more expensive as inflation is steadily increasing again. And now we have "A.I." and automation coming for most of our jobs. It's almost like the capitalist class and wealthy people in general just don't care what happens to all of us poors. Like I said, I've lived off of $23k a year for a while, and now I'm at the point where about the only fun thing I get to do anymore is occasionally go to the theater on half-price ticket Tuesdays. Buying games and Blu-rays has slowed down a lot over the past year. Hard to enjoy fun things when you're broke half the time. My house payment went up last year because of rising insurance rates, I have medical bills mounting after an incident back in December, and I had to make multiple repairs to my vehicle, including a new clutch. When you're living paycheck to paycheck, your ability to enjoy luxuries like video games could vanish quickly because of other priorities. If you're making $100k+ a year, you're far more insulated against these things. That's why people making that kind of money are now over half of console buyers, and it could easily grow to 60%, 70%, or more next generation. It's going to be a rich person's hobby. |
They do care! Providing an option at a mass market price is how they've operated for 30+ years. We can't know for sure that it's just going to stop now because prices are going up in general. When they discontinue the PS5 models they will still need the general consumer to be buying something. We know it won't be the Orion and the handheld might be a niche thing because costs of the Canis chipset + screen, battery and cooling system might put it out of the general consumers budget. It might still be possible to hit 500$ (if they subsidise a little) with Canis chipset in PS Vita TV shell. The money they save on materials and shipping should make it possible. Don't count it out yet. Sorry for my short reply to your longer reply but we shouldn't give up on the idea of an affordable console yet. It's still doable and Sony has the exact chipset to make it happen
