There’s no confirmation that we’ll get Australian pricing of the PlayStation 5 tomorrow, but that hasn’t stopped people wondering nonetheless. So to help inform that chatter, one user and a former Aussie games journo has collated the data on all previous Australian console launches.
The list was put together by Jarrod Mawson, a former writer for PALGN and Rocket Chainsaw. It’s a couple of graphs logging the cost of every console’s launch pricing in Australia, going as far back as the third generation (that’s the NES era), through to the Xbox One X, Switch and PS4 Pro.
The first two graphs show the pricing in AUD, while the third logs their launch prices internationally. Naturally, the original PS3 60GB model was a staggering $1000. But for the most part, Sony’s launch pricing has traditionally been higher than Microsoft. That changed with the release of the PS4 and the PS4 Pro.
Alright Aussies; here’s every Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony console launch price graphed in AUD. First graph is price at launch, second is adjusted for 2019 inflation as per the Reserve Bank of Australia. This is Australia’s console pricing history.#xbox #playstation #nintendo pic.twitter.com/8cKIZEoeHo
— consumeprogeny (@ConsumeProgeny) June 11, 2020
Fixed the USD$ graph of Sony/Microsoft/Nintendo console launch prices to include the Xbox 360 20GB SKU, as it was a pretty glaring oversight. Also replaced the NES Deluxe with the USD$99 SKU, which is what most people would have purchased. pic.twitter.com/TB7kBArU1h
— consumeprogeny (@ConsumeProgeny) June 11, 2020
The figures were adjusted for the most recent inflation figures — from the RBA in 2019, Mawson told Kotaku Australia. 2020 figures aren’t available yet, although that’s likely because the current fiscal year is yet to end.
Based off history, Mawson’s current estimate is that the PS5 will shake out to be around $600 or $700 dollars here. I remember bundles of the Xbox One costing over $600 when that launched last generation, and given the impact of coronavirus and the squeeze that’s applied to supply, I wouldn’t be surprised if the PS5 works out to be a bit more than that.
It’s also been reported that Sony’s manufacturing costs have risen this year, thanks to shortages in other components. Bloomberg wrote earlier this year that the PS5’s cost per unit had risen to $US450 a console, which is approximately $649 at the time of writing. The spike in cost was due to a shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory.
What’s likely is that Sony — and Xbox — will both book a loss per console sold this generation, at least at launch. Both companies have done so in the past, especially since those losses are later recouped through software sales and subscription services (like PlayStation Now and PlayStation Plus). Consoles also get cheaper to manufacture over time, particularly as competition for the 7nm silicon manufacturing process reduces as CPU makers, mobile phone companies and other firms transition to newer process nodes.
Still, none of that is going to change the calculus this summer. The PS5 — and probably the Xbox Series X too — is gonna be expensive. Get those wallets ready.
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