According to Ryan, who said he respects “every competitor’s decision and their philosophies,” creating a lower speced PS5 console was something Sony considered at one time, but decided it was something that didn’t yield great results in the past. “Clearly, price is a very important factor,” he told Japanese site AV Watch via VGC. “One thing that can be said is that if you look at the history of the game business, creating a special low priced, reduced spec console is something that has not had great results in the past. We’ve considered that option and seen other executives who have attempted this discover how problematic it is.” Ryan stated that Sony is instead committed to its current strategy of proving folks with a future-proof console they will want to use for “four, five, six or even seven years.” “They want to believe they have bought something that is future-proofed and not going to be outdated in two-to-three years. They want to have faith that if they end up buying a new TV that their current console will be able to support that new 4K TV they are considering buying.” Sony will release two consoles in November, one that is a standard model and the other digital-only. The prices are $499 and $399, respectively. Microsoft on the other hand is releasing its disc-less Xbox Series S console alongside the more powerful Xbox Series X. The former supports up to 1440p while the latter supports 4K and features more storage space. There is a major price difference between the two consoles as well, as the XBSS will run you $299 whereas the XBSX will set you back $499.
