PS5 price leaks ahead of Sony's showcase event — it could be a problem for Xbox Series X [Updated]
Has Sony won the next-gen console pricing battle?
Update on September 16 at 4:53pm: It's official! The leak was accurate. Sony revealed today that the PS5 would cost $499 while the PS5 Digital Edition will cost $399 when they go on sale on November 12 in the US.
With Microsoft finally announcing the price of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S, it is Sony's move. Recent rumors suggest that the company may indeed have reduced its planned pricing for the PS5 in response to Xbox.
Ahead of Sony's PS5 showcase event, we have yet another credible rumor, but this time from Spanish publication Vandal. It claims to have seen pricing for the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition on the internal systems of one of the biggest retailers in Spain, El Corte Ingles (via Tom's Guide).
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The pricing aligns with the most recent rumors that the PS5 will now match the Xbox Series X at $499 and the PS5 Digital Edition will come in at $399. The listings in question don't expressly say PS5 or even Sony, opting instead for what are believed to be code names for the two consoles, "Enigma" and "Aurea," but it's not much of a leap to suggest that these two new consoles in the system must be the PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition.
It will be unsurprising if the flagship consoles for each company launch at the same price. Both sides witnessed what happened with the Xbox One launch against the PS4 and are seeking to avoid an easy loss in this cycle by having the "expensive" console.
This will make the PS5 Digital Edition the most interesting battleground in this console generation as the cheapest full-powered next-gen console. While the $299 Xbox Series S includes many of the same components as the Xbox Series X, it is nonetheless closer in raw power to the current generation of consoles.
The question is whether most consumers will understand or even care about this discrepancy or if that $299 price point is going to be too tempting.
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Hopefully, Sony puts all of these rumors to bed with today's PS5 showcase event starting at 4 p.m. Eastern (1 p.m. Pacific) time and we will finally have the complete picture of the Xbox Series X vs. PS5.
Sean Riley has been covering tech professionally for over a decade now. Most of that time was as a freelancer covering varied topics including phones, wearables, tablets, smart home devices, laptops, AR, VR, mobile payments, fintech, and more. Sean is the resident mobile expert at Laptop Mag, specializing in phones and wearables, you'll find plenty of news, reviews, how-to, and opinion pieces on these subjects from him here. But Laptop Mag has also proven a perfect fit for that broad range of interests with reviews and news on the latest laptops, VR games, and computer accessories along with coverage on everything from NFTs to cybersecurity and more.