24th September 2020 – (Hong Kong) This Wednesday, after much anticipation, Sony finally unveiled the price and release date for its next-gen console – the PlayStation 5.
Clocking in at HK$3,980 for the Standard version and HK$3180 for the Digital version, the PS5 will be officially out on Novrmber 19th and consumers in Hong Kong will be able to make pre-orders from September 18th.
First reactions on social media show that these price tags are reasonable for gamers who were immediately on the preorder list. It is no wonder, though, we have all been dying to put our hands on the console.
However, this is no doubt massive as not all of us might be able to purchase a PS5 at launch right away. The PlayStation 5 Standard version will be the most expensive PlayStation console to date (the PlayStation 4 was launched in 2016 at HK$3,980), putting it out of reach for some, especially younger folks.
The good news is if money is tight, you might not have to wait very long for the situation to change, according to a report by e-commerce aggregator iPrice Group.
Using data, iPrice Group predicts that by May 2021 or 6 months after the official release, you will be able to get the PlayStation 5 Digital version for HK$2,989 or the Standard version for HK$3,741.
That means potentially saving up to HK$239, a great boon to many who are keen to witness the price reduction.
Then by November 2021, prices will likely drop even further to HK$2,750 for the Digital version and HK$3,442 for the Standard version, nearly HK$538 less than Sony’s introductory price.
We came to this conclusion by examining the price history of PlayStation 4 Pro. We collected and compared selling prices of the console throughout the years on over 150 online shopping websites.
And we noticed that the average online selling price for Sony consoles tends to drop by 6% six months after release and then by a further 8% one year after release.
These amazing prices often come in the form of seasonal discounts from nationwide online retailers or deals from unofficial sellers in the city-state. Whichever the case, selling online allows these sellers to offer better prices than traditional retail.
So be on the lookout for those sweet, sweet deals!
In case you want to wait for the official price drop from Sony, that might take a lot longer. The first official price drop for the PlayStation 4 happened two years after its initial launch, and the price was slashed by 15%.
There you have it. By simply practising a little bit of patience and being savvy, you will soon be able to snag that next-gen console for an extremely good price.
Methodology
Price history information for the PS4 Pro was taken from iPrice.sg’s database, aggregating over 150 online shops selling brand new products at the lowest price. Official release prices were taken from Sony’s announcements.