PS6 BOM costs rise to almost $1,000 – claims leaker
Sony’s PlayStation 6 BOM cost has risen by $200 since March – KeplerL2 claims
With DRAM and storage prices continuing to rise, it seems increasingly likely that even Sony’s PlayStation 6 (PS6) console will cost over $1,000 at launch. According to KeplerL2, the renowned hardware leaker, Sony’s BOM (Bill of Materials) costs for its PS6 console have already risen by $200 since March. That gives the console a material cost of around $760.
If RAM and NAND prices do not fall before the release of the PlayStation 6, the console will likely cost around $1,000. While Sony can subsidise the console’s price, it cannot afford to dramatically lower it. After all, any subsidy that Sony gives will need to be re-earned through game sales. The bigger the subsidy, the longer it will take to be repaid.
While Sony could ship its PlayStation 6 with a smaller memory upgrade than originally hoped, doing so would undermine the system’s generational gains. The system can reportedly support up to 40GB of GDDR7 memory (according to prior leaks). That said, KeplerL2 believes that Sony plans to release the console with 30GB of memory. That’s 87.5% more memory than a PlayStation 6. Using less memory could leave the PlayStation 6 very memory-constrained.
BOM went up by ~$200 since I made that post
– KeplerL2
(Kepler L2 on Neogaf)
The AI market is killing the console market
This is the first console generation to have seen console hardware prices increase since launch. This is especially true now that rapid AI datacenter buildouts have decimated the world’s supply of DRAM and NAND. This has made memory and storage more expensive, greatly increasing the cost of newly built consoles.
Sadly, these higher costs will have a greater impact on next-generation consoles. To deliver a generational leap in performance and capability, these systems need more memory. This means that price increases are unavoidable. Unless DRAM and NAND pricing suddenly plummets, the next generation of consoles will be incredibly expensive.
| PlayStation 6 Specifications (Leaked) |
|
| CPU Architecture | AMD Zen 6 Generation |
| CPU Cores | 7-8x Zen 6c + 2x Zen 6 LP |
| GPU Architecture | AMD RDNA 5 |
| GPU Compute Units | 52-54 CUs |
| NPU | N/A |
| Die Size | 280mm² Monolithic |
| Process | TSMC 3nm |
| Memory Bus | 160-bit |
| Memory Type | GDDR7 |
| Memory Capacity | To be Confirmed (Up to 40GB) |
Valve’s Steam Machine launched with hugely negative press due to its high $1,049/£879 price tag. If memory prices remain as they are or worsen, Sony’s PlayStation 6 is likely to cost around $1,000. This price hike is unavoidable given today’s circumstances.
With AI gobbling up the world’s memory supply, the era of cheap/affordable electronics has come to an end. While many gamers already hate AI, they will hate it more once they see the official pricing of all next-generation consoles.
You can join the discussion on the PlayStation 6’s rising costs on the OC3D Forums.
