Playstation 5: worldwide launch of the Sony console, PS5 – Video games – Technology

The battle between Sony and Microsoft entered its decisive phase on Thursday with the Japanese company launching its new PlayStation 5 console, two days after its American rival had put the Xbox series up for sale.

Unlike Microsoft, which has opted for a single global launch, Sony puts the console on sale in two phases: Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, United States, Canada and Mexico starting Thursday. The rest of the world, and Europe in particular, will have to wait until November 19.

Due to the pandemic, purchases will be made online. Sony has warned that no consoles will be sold in stores on launch days. At a shop in Sydney, Australia, only a handful of customers who managed to book online in advance came to pick up the console on Thursday morning, an AFP reporter found.

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“With covid, I guess people didn’t want to flock to the shops,” commented Theo Pasialis, who went to get his PlayStation 5. “Besides, there weren’t enough for everyone. ”

Demand for the more family lifestyle imposed by the pandemic is high. Copies available for pre-order sold out in record time And analysts predict that it will be very difficult to get a new console before 2021.

Like its rival, the PlayStation 5 will be available in two versions: a “premium” which Sony sells for $ 499, the same price as Xbox Series X and a Equally powerful “digital edition” but no hard drive, at $ 399, 100 more than the Xbox Series S.

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These digital versions, which only allow you to play downloaded games, are a gold mine for the two manufacturers because they allow them to offset the weakness of their margins in console sales. Thus they can control the prices of the games, eliminating the costs of production and distribution, preventing resale in the second-hand market.

Repeat the success of the PS4

The consoles of the two giants have globally equivalent characteristics. Sony plans to differentiate itself with highly anticipated games like ‘Spider-man: Miles Morales’, ‘Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart’ or ‘Horizon: Forbidden West’, some of which are not expected for several months. These games are developed by studios purchased by Sony, a way for the manufacturer to ensure the development of exclusive titles for its console and to secure its profits in sales.

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The Japanese company has 14 studios. Sony, whose video games account for about a third of sales, plans to reap ninth place in video game history with this generation of consoles, the same success as the PlayStation 4, launched in 2013 and of which it has sold twice as many copies. compared to Xbox One.

The Japanese company got the better of the PS4, says Serkan Toto, an analyst at Kantan Games in Tokyo. “We recommend that you focus on the Western market to make sure you keep the gap with Microsofthe told AFP.

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In recent years, Sony has, in fact, left the Japanese archipelago, where the market for console games, which has shrunk considerably, is dominated by Nintendo. Sony only sold 8% of its PS4s there. It has focused its strategy on the US market, the only territory where its competitor Microsoft is not lagging behind.

In 2016, he moved PlayStation operations from Tokyo to California and unified his decision-making and production process, led by his American teams. According to most analysts, Sony will again surpass its American rival in the number of consoles sold. However, in the long run, Microsoft could be hot on its heels thanks to its strategy focused on subscription and video games streaming.

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AFP