Sony officially unveiled the Sony PlayStation 5 (PS5) at its recent “The Future of Gaming” livestream, but it did not share any new details on the console’s pricing and availability.
This has, once again, caused gamers all around the world to raise two very critical questions:
- What is the price range for this next-gen gaming console?
- When is the launch date?
However, even with most global video game events being canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the launch program for the PS5 is apparently on track and will likely follow a similar pattern to the Sony PlayStation 4 (PS4) marketing playbook from 2013.
Since the world already got its first glimpse of the next-gen video game console, the upcoming acts will be about its pricing, Day 1 availability, and possible special bundled deals.
Back in 2013, the official curtain raiser event for SIE at E3 showcased the first looks of the PS4, bundled launch titles, and its US$399 price tag. As for when the highly anticipated game console will reach store shelves, those details dropped at GAMESCOM 2013.
Additional information, like game bundles with the PS4, new accessories, and the delay for Japan’s launch plans were shared at Tokyo Games Show 2013. It was at this event that SIE also confirmed that the PS4 is slated to reach Southeast Asia in December 2013.
For 2020, seeing as there are only just the handful of video game events and related expos left, these new PS5 details are likely to show up at the following revised virtual events:
Going by the PS4 launch playbook, its official first looks shared the spotlight with the pricing announcement at E3 2013. For the PS5, more details on the PS5 Digital Edition — what is, possibly, the result of that SIE partnership for Cloud Gaming with Microsoft — and the PS5 price tags will be out first. This is expected to take place at this year’s GAMESCOM or SDCC.
TGS 2020, as the last event on the global video game conference calendar, will most likely play host to the release date and pre-order details of the PS5. Unless SIE wants to put together another PSX event, that is the estimated announcement timeline for the PS5.
Of course, this isn’t set in stone since, unlike 2013, there are no pricing details for the PS5 as yet. Let’s wait and see, come August 2020, if SIE will be following this plan.
Read more: The PS5 may have ‘cross-gen’ play
