By Sam Nussey
TOKYO, July 29 (Reuters) - Sony is set to be a major beneficiary of the launch of "Grand Theft Auto VI" but the highly anticipated game is landing as the PlayStation maker grapples with rising prices of memory chips.
The Japanese entertainment conglomerate, widely seen as the winner of the high-end console wars as Microsoft's Xbox business retrenches, has a long history with Take-Two Interactive Software, which will launch its delayed "GTA VI" on November 19.
"GTA VI will be console only
and the vast majority of new users will choose a PlayStation 5," said Serkan Toto, founder of Kantan Games consultancy.
Sony launched the PS5 in 2020 and weathered COVID-19 pandemic supply chain disruption. More recently, it has been buffeted by AI investment-driven memory price rises and has repeatedly raised prices for its consoles.
The firm has said it has secured memory supply for this financial year but expects prices to continue to be high next year. In recent months, investor concerns over memory and the impact of AI on its entertainment business have weighed on its share price.
The "GTA VI" launch will soften the decline of PS5 hardware sales this year and support growth in software sales, said analyst Piers Harding-Rolls at Ampere Analysis.
Take-Two has sold almost 230 million units of "Grand Theft Auto V" since its 2013 launch. The company aimed to release the sequel last year but delayed it twice.
"Sony would have preferred GTA VI to arrive earlier in the life of the PlayStation 5 to drive momentum during its rapid adoption phase rather than when the cycle is starting to burn out," said Harding-Rolls.
"Following increases, PS5's price point is now higher than ideal with GTA VI coming to market," he said.
"GTA VI" on the PS5 will be priced at $79.99 for the base version and will be digital-only. The franchise is known for its immersive, open-world gameplay where players assume the role of criminals in a stylised recreation of the U.S.
Sony plans to stop making physical discs from 2028, a move analysts said is aimed at shoring up profit. The decision has sparked debate among gamers and is widely seen as a major milestone in the entertainment industry's shift away from physical media.
PS5 user Albertus Andaru Hutama, who lives in the Indonesian capital Jakarta, said he wished "GTA VI" would be sold on a disc at that price point. "Although the timeline is delayed ... the excitement is still there," said the 31-year-old.
Sony, which reports first-quarter earnings on Friday, will lose substantial money selling PS5 hardware if current memory prices for future contracts are factored in, said CLSA analyst Amit Garg.
"Sony may choose to produce lower volumes next year and wait for memory prices to come down," he said.
The path for memory prices is widely debated in the industry, with Sony to face procurement challenges when it launches a successor gaming device, which some observers expect in late 2028.
Toto of Kantan Games expects the new device to either be handheld or have a strong handheld component.
"PlayStation 6 will have to be priced at a premium but that will hurt console sales," said CLSA's Garg.
(Reporting by Sam Nussey; Additional reporting by Stanley Widianto; Editing by Christopher Cushing)
