Analysts Discuss Potential Price of PS6 and Project Helix Following Steam Machine Price - News
by William D'Angelo , posted 8 hours ago / 2,066 Views
Valve this week announced the Steam Machine will start at $1,049 for the 512GB version without a controller and go up to $1,428 for the 2TB version with a Steam Controller. Analysts speaking with GamesIndustry discussed what this could mean with the next-generation consoles, the PlayStation 6 and Xbox's Project Helix.
"At this rate, the next generation may not even release until 2028, and when it does, north of a grand is the floor," said Aldora CEO Joost van Dreunen. "Even existing devices are getting marked up. The companies that manufacture the necessary components have fully shifted toward selling to hyperscalers, paying a premium to build out their data centres.
"The memory makers – Samsung, SK Hynix, Micron – are now 'post-consumer', which tells you gamers matter less and prices go up. Earlier this month, Xbox CEO Asha Sharma conceded that its upcoming console is going to need a new business model and hardware partners just to ship, and that storage and memory will cost five times more by holiday 2027 than they did in 2024."
Ampere Analysis’s head of games research Piers Harding-Rolls added, "Next-gen consoles will likely be more expensive, but they have different levers that can be pulled to offset hardware costs, which can support cheaper pricing. Sony has more scale than Valve and is better positioned in terms of supply chain accessibility through its entrenched relationships and broader electronics business.
"Console companies will be hoping that they can take advantage of improving component inventories and more stable pricing as it gets closer to the launch of next-gen consoles. Market disruption and other factors means this is most likely to be at the end of 2028."
Senior Director and Video Game Industry Advisor at Circana Mat Piscatella also agrees that $1,000 or more isn't a given, but it is likely.
"But it will possibly (even likely) happen anyways," said Piscatella. "Given the chaos in the world of components (and lots of other things, for that matter) the future here is beyond cloudy."
Newzoo market intelligence director Manu Rosier mentioned the PlayStation 5 Pro already costs $899, but does think the next-generation consoles are likely to be under $1,000 for "psychological and marketing reasons."
"The PS5 Pro is already at $899 after two hikes inside a year, so the distance to $1,000 is short," said Rosier. "Base next-generation models are likely to hold under $999 for psychological and marketing reasons. Premium tiers are a separate question. Component costs sit outside the manufacturers' control, and there is no sign of an AI-driven cooldown in memory and storage demand. Xbox CEO Asha Sharma has already said memory costs will affect Project Helix pricing and availability."
Rosier added historically Sony and Microsoft have sold their consoles at or below costs, which is then turned into a profit with the sale of games and subscriptions.
"That subsidy capacity is what can keep a base console under $999 even as build costs climb," he stated. He also sees "platform holders launching their own streaming boxes, and hardware-subscription models that spread the upfront cost over time."
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012 and taking over the hardware estimates in 2017. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel. You can follow the author on Bluesky.
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