Sony hasn't fully decided on a price for the PlayStation 5 yet. It seems this is in part due to wanting to see how its competition, the Xbox Series X, is priced, as well as a number of other monetary factors.

Sony had its Q3 earnings call this week during which it was announced that the PS4 just had its lowest Christmas sales period. In total 6.1 million units were sold during Christmas 2019, compared to 8.1 million units sold in Christmas 2018.

Chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, stated he intends to ensure a "smooth transition" for Sony from the PS4 to PS5. But he was questioned on how he will do this and asked which costs Sony can control. And the answer is...complicated when it comes to how Sony will price the PS5. Totoki said:



"First we must absolutely control the labor cost the personnel cost. It must be controlled. And it leads to what should be recognized as a cost. We will definitely control that. And the initial ramp-up, how much can we prepare, initially we will work on the production and the sales and we will have to prepare the right volume as we launch this. "What is not very clear or visible, it's because we are competing in the space. So it's very difficult to discuss anything about the price at this point of time. And depending upon the price level, we may have to determine the promotion that we are going to deploy and how much cost we are prepared to pay. So it's a question of balance. "And because it's a balancing act, it's very difficult to say anything concrete at this point of time. But when I said a smooth transition, we mean that we will definitely choose the optimal approach, and that we would try to have the best balance, so that, we will be profitable in the life -- during, the life of this product."

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Totoki notes that, given PlayStation 5 is competing with the Xbox Series X, which has also yet to be given it a price, it's "very difficult to discuss anything" in relation to price without tipping the company's hand. Whether this means Sony will wait until Xbox announces price first, or the company ultimately decides to announce a price first is unclear, but for now the approach suggests Sony is willing to wait on this announcement.

However, Totoki's statements also imply that the pricing, which apparently is not set in stone, will also factor into the level of promotion needed to sell the PS5.

PS5 Games We Think Might Already Be In Development 8 IMAGES

While we don't yet know the PlayStation 5 release date, Sony will be helping its players transition to its next-gen console with the PS5's backwards compatibility allowing PS4 games to be played on it. Microsoft is promising the same, Xbox Series X backwards compatibility available at launch and able to play all Xbox One games on day one. The fact that both next-gen consoles will have backwards compatibility at launch is a first, and it's a big deal.

Editor's note: This article has been updated to reflect the full comments given during Sony's earnings call in regard to price.

Chris Priestman is a freelancer who writes news for IGN. Follow him on Twitter.