As we near the Holiday season, the question is whether or not Sony will be willing to cut the price on the PS4 to help it move in big numbers. The question isn’t unreasonable—for example, last year, they did drop the price of the PS4 Slim to $199, which led to shortages for the system with how well it sold.
That could happen this year too, according to Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter. In fact, the price drop could end up being for both the PS4 and the PS4 Pro, with the latter’s price cut reflecting the kind the console saw in Japan recently.
“The PS4 [Pro Red Dead Redemption 2] bundle is sneaky,” Pachter said, in an exclusive interview with GamingBolt, when asked about how he expected the bundle in question to affect the console’s sales. “They cut the price of the hardware in Japan to the equivalent of $349 and didn’t do so in the U.S., keeping the hardware at $399. That means Red Dead is “free” in the bundle. I think we get a cut for PS4 (to $249) and Pro (to $349) around Black Friday, but the pricing now makes RDR look like it’s free. Regardless, not that many bundles sell before Black Friday, so it’s unclear if this deal will last very long.”
I do think Sony will cut the price, apart from some aggressive bundling. It’s the safest way to help sell a console to a broader audience when it is nearly five years old, as the PS4 is. And with Microsoft and Nintendo both looking at upping their bundling game this year, for Sony, cutting the price would be the best way to help ensure the PS4 can keep its edge and keep selling more than the other consoles do.
