We are getting closer and closer to PS5 pre-orders. Even though the PS5 design, specs and games have been revealed, the pre-order options and price are still under wraps. Sony's PS5 is due to arrive in 'Holiday 2020,' which means it's set to launch around November time.
This leaves keen PlayStation fans eager to reserve a console a little in the dark. Unfortunately, the PS5 isn't looking like it's going to be cheap either, with Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan having touted that the PS5 will be focused on delivering value rather than the lowest price around. Value, in this case, will come in the form of next-generation tech such as a super speedy custom SSD and well as a range of exclusive games like Horizon Forbidden West and Gran Turismo 7.
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However, the PS5 is going to have competition in the form of the Xbox Series X, which is rumored to undercut the PS5 in price. So Sony will have to be smart about the PS5 price tag.
Nevertheless, we’ve been given a glimpse at some of the upcoming PS5 games and what we can expect from the machine, so Sony's next-gen console just might be worth a premium price. We’ll be keeping an eye out for any PS5 pricing and preorder news as and when it pops up, but here’s what we know so far and what think the PS5 might cost.
PS5 pre-order and price: How much will the PS5 cost?
We had hoped Sony might give us an idea of the PS5’s price at its June 11 event, but it didn’t. Going by the unofficial information we have so far, the price is predicted to sit somewhere around the $500 mark in the US and £449 in the UK.
That would put it around the same price as the Xbox One at launch, which didn’t fare too well in comparison the PS4’s launch price of $400 and £350 in the UK. But the shoe looks to be on the other foot, as Microsoft is predicted to price the Xbox Series X at $100 below the PS5.
However, both consoles are set to have fast SSD storage, with the PS5 having a custom SSD based on tech that you can’t buy yet for even the best gaming PCs. That could lead to especially high price tags for both consoles.
A leaked price on Amazon UK had the PS5 marked at £599, or approximately $760, which is seriously expensive for a dedicated games console. However, Amazon has come out and said that price was a mistake, used instead as a dummy price for a dummy product. Just days later, Play-Asia posted the PS5 for pre-order for a similarly pricey $699, before taking it down soon after.
While these prices are likely placeholders, they've injected a feeling that the PS5 could be much more expensive than its predecessor.
In addition to the main PS5, Sony will also offer a digital-only version of the console that ditches the Blu-ray drive for a presumably lower price.
However, don’t expect it to be significantly cheaper. There’s only a $50 gap between the Xbox One S All-Digital Editon and its disc drive-equipped counterpart, so we’d say at best the PS5 digital edition will be $100 cheaper than the main PS5.
Jim Ryan, Sony’s president, told the BBC that the digital-only PS5 wasn’t about giving PlayStation fans a cheaper console: "Many of our consumers are purchasing solely digitally these days....We thought that we would do what we typically try and do, and just offer choice."
PS5 pre-orders: When can I buy a PS5?
Much like the price, there’s been no hint of a pre-order date for the PS5. And unlike the Xbox Series X, there’s not even a pre-order holding page for Sony’s next-generation console. The official PS5 website lets you sign up for email updates on the console, but there's no mention of upcoming pre-orders just yet.
Sony is predicted to have less PS5 units ready to sell at launch than it did with the PS4. But the company still reckons it’ll have enough for PlayStation fans keen to get their hands on the PS5 as soon as possible. Still, fewer consoles may mean that Sony isn’t so keen on getting pre-orders ready this early.
If we were to indulge in some speculation, we’d predict that PS5 pre-orders will take place in July at the earliest, and more likely around August and September. However, some opportunistic online retailers might have pre-order placeholders ready a little earlier to gauge appetite for the PS5 against the Xbox Series X.
PS5 pre-orders and price: Will the PS5 be worth it?
That’s a tricky question to answer before we actually try out the games console and get a firmed up idea of the PS5 price. But so far the signs are pointing towards a tentative "yes."
4K televisions now feature heavily in our picks of the best TVs and are getting ever-more popular. So having a console with enough power to run all its games at 4K naively and at decent frame rates will be a boon for anyone who wants to game on a new TV.
But power is only one part of the PS5 repertoire. Its custom SSD promises to load games a very fast pace and probably have the ability to switch between games on-the-fly.
It might not seem like much, but avoiding the tedious load times of some games, particularly challenging ones that see you reloading a lot like Bloodborne, could subtly transform a gaming experience. We found that large games like Red Dead Redemption 2 took ages to load on the PS4 and Xbox One X, so if the PS5’s SSD can eliminate such loading times, it could be onto a winner.
Then there’s the 3D Audio that Sony is adding into the PS5, which promises to deliver much more immersive sound in games. And to go alongside it, the DualSense controller is expected to deliver a more tactile gaming experience with the haptic function allowing people to feel things lie the tension of a drawn bowstring.
These features combined means the PS5 is potentially a bigger step up from the PS4 than that was to the PS3. That could lead to the console being more expensive at launch, but it could also deliver serious amount of next-generation tech for the premium.
Finally, there are already many high-profile exclusives set to come to the PS5, with Horizon Forbidden West, Gran Turismo 7 and Spider-Man: Miles Morales spearheading the current lineup. So the PS5 looks set to be able to justify it’s predicted price; we just need Sony to confirm it.
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