Ex-PlayStation boss: make a $300 PS5, not a $1,200 PS6
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says Sony should make a smaller $300 PS5 rather than a $1,200 PS6, as PS5 sales reach 97.9 million.
09th Nov 2026 19:45
Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment
Ex-PlayStation boss: make a $300 PS5, not a $1,200 PS6
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden says Sony should make a smaller $300 PS5 rather than a $1,200 PS6, as PS5 sales reach 97.9 million.
09th Nov 2026 19:45
Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment
Former PlayStation boss Shawn Layden reckons Sony's best next move isn't an expensive PS6 at all, but a smaller, cheaper PS5 that a lot more people could actually afford.
Layden, who was once in charge of PlayStation in America and of Sony's first-party studios, made the comments on The Trophy Room podcast, as reported by Push Square, Dexerto and GamesRadar.
"We have enough power in the machine," Layden said. "The innovation needs to come not from making PS6 for $1,200, it's to make another PS5 for $300. Now that would be true innovation."
Differences only dogs can hear
Layden explained that consoles have typically lasted six to eight years before a successor turns up, and that each new machine used to bring something "mind-blowing", but he feels the jump from PS4 to PS5 was mostly about ray tracing and teraflops, and that more upgrades in that vein would be "differences only dogs can hear".
He also pointed out that the PS5 is "the first platform that I've seen that has gone up in price over time", and said Sony should "do what it's never done, which is don't iterate the console", adding: "Make it smaller, make it cheaper, do all the things you can around that."
Sony, for its part, is pressing on with its plans. In its latest financial results on November 5, the company said development of its next-generation platform is "progressing as scheduled", while revealing that the PS5 has now sold 97.9 million units, as reported by VGC and Push Square. Sony hasn't announced a release date or a price for PS6, so the $1,200 figure is Layden's example rather than anything official.
It isn't the first time console prices have been a sore point this generation, as our report on when Sony confirmed a PS5 price hike shows. Well, if Sony ever does fancy shrinking the PS5 down to a friendlier price, we know at least one former boss who'd be first in the queue.
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Jake Bannister
Jake is GGRecon's Co-Founder and Operations Director. You'll find him covering our word game brain teasers, as well as sports games such as Football Manager and EA FC. He's also that teammate on your Rocket League team spamming "Wow!".
