While Microsoft might have to deal with a high bill of materials (BOM) for its next-gen console—Project Helix—it looks like Sony has managed to avoid the same fate for its line-up of PS6 hardware. In a new video, Moore’s Law is Dead has provided a breakdown of the BOM for the current PS5, and has compared it to three next-gen consoles: a potential low-powered PS6S home console based on the handheld’s Cannis APU, the PS6 handheld itself, and the PS6 home console, which runs on the Orion APU.
The PS6 handheld, while running on a cheaper APU, also has to contend with including a display and a battery, bringing its BOM up to $493.69. The main PS6 home console—Orion—will seemingly cost $743 to manufacture thanks to its more expensive APU die, which sits at $110.50, as well as a $48 board. Moore’s Law is Dead uses a hypothetical PS6″S” for the sake of comparison – a low-powered console that could be sold alongside the handheld and home consoles which could end up being the least expensive SKU of the lot. Its BOM, when taking the PS6 handheld’s screen and battery out of the equation, comes in at around $404.38.
For contrast, the slim model of the PS5 with the disc drive costs Sony $507.03 to manufacture. Before the recent price hikes, the console was priced at $499, before going up to $649 earlier this month. This new price tag takes 30 percent import tariffs into account.
The PS6 handheld will seemingly cost $499, allowing Sony to make a minor profit off the hardware. Tariffs bring this price tag up to $649. Orion will be the most expensive of the bunch with a $749 price tag. However, if import tariffs continue by then, it will likely end up being priced at $949. The hypothetical PS6S would work to counter this massive price tag by being priced at around $399.
The host of Moore’s Law is Dead, Tom, has noted that he used to estimate prices like this professionally when he still worked as an engineering account manager. However, as is the case with all rumors, until we get an official announcement by Sony, all of this should be taken with a grain of salt.
However, while memory prices have certainly played a major role in the BOMs for the upcoming consoles, it looks like Tom is expecting import tariffs to play a much larger role in deciding the pricing of the console. He also reiterated that the PS6 will likely cost around $750, and it is very unlikely that Sony will bring its price tag up to $1,000. “The longer people think the PS6 is $1,000, the more they’re going to claw their eyes out when they see it’s not because it’s not. It’s not going to be $1,000. It’s not,” he said.
Even taking the current geo-political landscape into account, and with the assumption that DRAM prices don’t come down by the time Sony wants to launch the consoles, Tom still predicts that the price will likely sit somewhere between $600 and $800.
This prediction runs counter to what analysts believe might happen, with some believing that the recent PS5 price hikes might lead to the PS6 costing 50 percent more.
