Sony says players waiting to preorder the PlayStation 5 don’t need to worry about it being put up for sale without warning, as it will announce the event ahead of time. PlayStation fans have been on edge lately after a couple of false alarms had people thinking that Sony was ready to surprise reveal the PS5’s price and release date.
Along with wondering about when the PS5 will be available, fans have been eager to know how much lighter it will make their wallets to pick one up. There have been several supposed PS5 price leaks to date, none of which has been verified by Sony. Another, possibly even more important, question about pricing that’s been tossed around lately is how much PS5 and Xbox Series X games are going to cost. Games have been holding steady at $60 for a while now, and some next-gen releases are confirmed to cost $70, but the question remains whether that will become the new standard.
Now there’s at least one question about the PS5 release that’s not quite as much of a mystery. During Geoff Keighley’s recent reveal of the PS5’s DualSense controller, Sony Worldwide head of marketing Eric Lempel stopped by and clarified that Sony won’t be starting PS5 preorders “with a minute’s notice,” according to IGN. Instead, he says Sony will reveal the date ahead of time, assuring fans that they don’t have to “go run out and line up anywhere” to secure themselves a next-generation console.
Lempel’s announcement came shortly after another bit of good news for anyone who wants to get in on the first round of PS5 consoles. Following earlier reports that Sony’s PS5 production would be low compared to previous launches, the console maker decided to boost its manufacturing efforts, raising the estimated number of consoles it’s having made from 6 million to 9-10 million. That is, if it can actually get that many out the door despite the supply chain disruptions brought by the COVID-19 pandemic. An unverified photo from last month claims to show the first PS5 to come out of Sony’s factories, which could signal that it’s in a good place to step up production if it’s legitimate.
Lempel’s announcement may not have been the PlayStation 5 preorder news that everyone wanted to hear – that is, when they’ll start and for how much – but it’s still good to hear Sony talking about its plans, especially for those who are worried about missing their shot at a launch console.
