A Newer, cheaper PS4 model to be released at the insane price of $149.99.
Having been released only six months ago and selling more than 7 million units, Sony is believed to be hard at work on an economic online only PS4. Over the past year set top boxes such as Ouya and Gamestick have proven that inexpensive online only game systems can sell and with the PS4 getting ready to release their streaming game service this summer it makes sense to ax the blu-ray drive.
Rumors of the less expensive console have been swirling ever since a mysterious product with similar specs to the PS4 was believed to be filed with the FCC. But a lower price point for consumers doesn’t necessarily mean they won’t be paying more in the end. As an anonymous Sony representative explained:
“This is part of Sony’s long term strategy of moving to a subscription based service. This means more revenue and no middle man”
The middle man he refers to are traditional retailers like Walmart and Target that carry disc based games. Recently Game Stop announced that it will be closing more than 100 stores possibly in response to the future of digital downloaded games which seems to be right around the corner.