Yeah I don't see there being a value in having a short PS6 generation or flooding the market with more hardware.

Likely the revision Sony is talking about is their pricing model. I don't think the internal hardware is changing. Even a PS6 lite is probably too expensive at $600 if still has 24GB of RAM. I now agree with DF that I don't they will bother make a lite version which would not be notably better than the PS5. The handheld hybrid is the light ($599). Removing all the handheld bits will shave off $99 maximum, not enough to justify for essentially a PS5 level experience, might as well just sell those same people the actual PS5.  The alternative hardware is the full fat console ($799) - both sold at loss of like $50 or so.

I suspect Sony will explore new Hardware as Service or contractual models where DRM enforces a monthly payment for those who can't buy a PS6 outright.

So starting Price becomes low, like $199 followed by a $29.99 per month contract (24months) which includes the basic PS+.

Additionally more monetisation like in-game ads

Generationally I think Sony cares about the future and developers eventually creating experiences based off what PS6 can offer, I just think they'll embrace a much longer cross gen period (3 years for 1st party) and reserve exclusivity for only tech demo like game experiences (Astro's Playroom/Nintendo's Switch 2 Welcome Tour) and some game features in cross gen games.

This is true, and I'm one of them actually. Not against but I preferred another route. I've always thought SNY should just shorten the gens instead of extend them with mid gen upgrades. Basically make the mid gen upgrade next gen, but continue supporting last gen. I had considered getting to a point kinda like now, where it get's too hard and/or too expensive to keep pushing the performance limit with upgrades, which also becomes a bit of a problem for the lower performing main launch model.

You're also right that SNY can't disregard the hardware enthusiasts who want better, so they couldn't launch just 1 PS6 model and have last last 7+ years like they did with PS3. That won't fly anymore. That's why I also think they should go with 5 year gens again. That way the hardware can stay advanced and fresh enough for most console hardware enthusiasts. But SNY would need to carry forward the previous gen all next gen long, like PS5 and PS6 together.

Launching a new model every 2 or even 3 years is too much work and investment for the payoff. SNY already went from 3 to 4 years for their mid gen upgrade. It's also a bit of a marketing headache, and would be even more work for devs. Not necessarily a ton more work, but more and more with every new upgrade nonetheless.

A subscription pay as you go hardware model won't work. I can tell you right now, none of my gaming friends would sign up for that. Most already don't like PS Plus, at least ever since SNY added tiers and kept jacking up the prices based on 'added value'. Paying for it in full once a year was borderline as it was, and that's for a digital service. Most my friends only pay it to be able to play online. They don't even care about anything else Plus offers. I and a few friends have cancelled our Plus subs this year. I've been signed up every year since about 2012. XB has been trying this for a while and it hasn't been working for them either. 

SNY should be able to shave $100 off the PS6 Handheld with a PS6 Lite console, but that's at cost to manufacture. SNY should then subsidize the PS6 Lite by $50-$100. This way you end up with something like a $399 PS6 Lite and a $599 PS6 Handheld.

Either that, or subsidize the handheld $100 so it's $499 and don't bother with the PS6 Lite at that point if SNY doesn't want to. Problem with this, is that all those PS4 gamers didn't upgrade to PS5 at $499, so what makes SNY think they'll upgrade to a PS6 Handheld for $499? How many potential new consumers could SNY attract with a $399 PS6 Lite instead?

Nothing is making any profit at $499, so subsidising it even further seems unlikely imo. This device has twice the ram and more advanced features than the Switch 2, it doesn't make sense to think it could exist at $399 in this economy. Worth noting when consoles were subsidized heavily in the past it was with the knowledge costs would fall significantly within across the generation. There is no prospect of that right now, so subsidisation would be minimal, not $200 worth imo.

As far as your friends (who already owns PS5s I presume?), that simply is not market enough evidence to say it can't work lol, I'm sorry. They already hate PS+ and tiers but the tiers are working and adding value to Sonys service revenue. They are just not the target market. Many different demographics are out there and Sony diversifying their model is intended to reach them through different means. A $199 upfront console and $29 sub with some perks would definitely appeal to some people.

Personally I always thought it was crazy that people would buy their phones outright and spend $800+ in one fell swoop. Others think it's crazy people go on these $50 contracts for 24months... Each to their own.

Now Sony will have more insight than either of us in what could work, I'm not wedded to the idea but when they say they're thinking their business model I think it's clearly implying more fundamentally about how they monitise and reach consumers.

"We would like to think about various simulations, including changing business models to come up with the best solution and strategy.” 

In-game ads are also a thing that's come to mind

The reality of the console market right now is that drastic measures need to be taken to make them accessible, but none of the parties have shown a willingness to sell hardware at a significant loss, so we shouldn't expect that going forward.

I think it's pretty clear what Sony should now : PS All Stars 2 and Legend of Dragoon Remake.

Nin always likes to make a decent profit from their hardware, so comparing directly to SW2 doesn't really work.

SNY was losing around $30 on each PS5 Disc Edition and around $100 on each Digital Edition at launch. If SNY breaks even or makes a small profit on each PS6 Handheld, while losing $100 on each PS6 Lite, then they would be losing less next gen and would better off than they were with PS5 at launch.

Both of those are crazy. I and most people I know buy a $300-$400 phone in one fell swoop every 4-5 years. Few I know spend huge money or go on contract.

In game ads? Might as well market the PS6 as a TV box like MS did the XB1 in that case. Both are terrible idea's for a game console.

MS won't sell XBS at a loss because they aren't a hardcore console company and mostly care about profits overall. SNY hasn't sold PS5 at a loss for years now simply because they have the momentum and MS had seemingly given up competing.

*My friends are all on PS4 still, except for one who bought a used PS5. I also know others who I wouldn't consider friends who are also on PS4, or older gens who want to upgrade but won't spend that much money to buy something like a PS5 or XBSX now. Some of my friends are seriously considering buying an XBSS due to it being somewhat affordable, and they've always had SNY consoles since PS1 or PS2. The point is that if SNY doesn't launch something cheap enough that can be a 1 time purchase then they're going to lose a bunch of long time customers and lose out on potential future customers. That kind of business model where SNY leaves those kind of consumers behind, is one where everything just keeps getting more expensive and existing PS gamers just keep getting monetized more and more.

I probably mentioned it already in this thread, not sure, but Sony needs to delay the ps6. Just not viable at the moment. To get a reasonable jump over the ps5/pro, they are looking at a 5070ti and 32 gb of ram. Just not viable.

If they're going to continue with the same type of business model then yes, but it sounds like they're thinking about possibly changing it.

They've been making some other changes already, like PC based, as mentioned below.

Every year the new iphone starts at around $799 and goes up to over $1199. Also all the sources I find say that smrt phones are historically mostly bought through contracts, not outright. It's only now essentially becoming 50/50 which is still a huge number of people preferring contracts.

"According to CIRP, 55% of iPhone buyers report using a monthly installment payment plan compared to 44% of Android phone buyers."

https://www.mactech.com/2023/11/01/cirp-55-of-iphone-buyers-use-installment-payment-plan-compared-to-44-of-android-phone-buyers/?utm_source=chatgpt.com"

As far as the new systems, I'll disagree about their break even point but I hope to be wrong. I don't think the portable PS6 will break even at $599, but that's just guesswork on my end for a 24GB GDDR7 RAM ram device... Regarding taking initial loses, again those are typically made with expectation that hardware will be sold for a decent profit soon down the line (it took PS5 about 1 year on the base system prior to the RAM situation). The market now is quite different, we've seen price rises and not cuts. For now I don't think we'll be seeing any hardware maker doing huge subsidising without some tricks elsewhere to make that money back beyond their regular services & software.

Another issue I have with the PS6 lite (if based on the portable) is that there may be very little market for it. Still an expensive piece of kit but technically weaker than the base PS5. It'd provide a comparable experience with slightly better image quality, and some improvements with RT but I don't think there is a huge audience for that considering many already have PS5s (likely 110m by fall 2027). They're not going to upgrade to the lite. Sony could potentially push it and discontinue the base PS5 but I don't think it'd be meaningfully transitioning their base audienece, it'd just be an option for very late adopters. Fundementally it won't resolve the problem of keeping their core 110-120m users re-engaged. At least the portable offers them something new, increases engagement alongside those improvements in upscaling/ai tasks.