Sony says PlayStation 6 release date and pricing are still up in the air

In a new interview with The Wall Street Journal, Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki addressed the status of its upcoming PlayStation 6 console. Although details on hardware and games remain a rumor, it's widely accepted that the hardware spec has been finalized and that Sony is in that 'getting games ready for launch' phase of the next-gen console's development cycle.

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Unfortunately, the current memory crisis raises big questions about when the console will launch and how much the PlayStation 6 will cost gamers. Although Sony has previously confirmed that it has sourced memory for the next year of PlayStation 5 sales, with high memory prices expected to continue through 2027, alongside supply constraints due to the AI and data center boom, it looks like these aspects of the PS6, the release date and price, are still up in the air.

"We have not yet decided on at what timing we will launch the new console, or at what prices," Hiroki Totoki told The Wall Street Journal. "So we would like to really observe and follow the situation."

Setting aside the memory and component crisis for a second, analysts and even insider information previously pointed to a late 2027 launch window for the PlayStation 6 console.

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From TweakTown's coverage of this story.

Has Sony confirmed the PlayStation 6 hardware specifications are finalized?

Yes. The article states it is "widely accepted that the hardware spec has been finalized" and that Sony is in the "getting games ready for launch" phase for the PlayStation 6. However, Sony has not decided on the console's launch timing or pricing due to the memory crisis.

Could high memory prices through 2027 force Sony to delay the PlayStation 6 into 2028 or 2029?

Yes. The article says Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki confirmed the memory crisis has left the PlayStation 6 release timing and price "up in the air," and notes high memory prices are expected through 2027 alongside supply constraints. Analysts had pointed to late 2027, but the piece also reports credible sources saying Sony has considered pushing the launch to 2028 or even 2029, though the latter is described as probably far-fetched.

Has Sony secured memory for PlayStation 6 production the way it did for another year of PS5 sales?

The article says Sony has sourced memory for the next year of PlayStation 5 sales, but it does not say Sony has secured memory for PlayStation 6 production. Sony says the PS6 release timing and pricing are still up in the air due to the memory crisis.

What reasons did Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki give for not setting a release date or price yet?

See answer

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However, since the RAM-pocalypse took hold, we've also heard from credible sources that Sony was looking at pushing back the PlayStation 6 launch to 2028 or even 2029. Now, the latter is probably far-fetched as that would mean Sony would be sitting on a pile of millions of consoles for several months, but it adds context to what we're hearing here. That is, Sony right now isn't sure when the PS6 will come to market or what it will cost consumers on day one.