The folks at Team Xbox
have picked up the latest issue of
PSM, also known as the
Unofficial PlayStation Magazine, and let us
know that the magazine is claiming to have the official launch date and price of Sony's latest game console. The
PlayStation 3 is set to launch in early November, just in time for the post-Thanksgiving shopping frenzy,
simultaneously with its online service. The asking price? $399 for US, €322 for Europe, and ¥45,965 in
Japan.
While we're sure that a magazine entirely devoted to Sony's platform has some pretty good inside
sources, and the prices and date seem pretty likely, consider this speculation until we get the official word from Sony
(or, at least, the
Official PlayStation Magazine).
{ Apr 26th 2006 at 2:28PM } 
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
apoc06 @ Apr 26th 2006 2:32PM
so... when can i preorder?
vc @ Apr 26th 2006 2:33PM
I'm not surprised at all by that price-point. I always figured the "it'll be expensive" rhetoric was a way to make gamers believe that the console was so next-gen that the technology couldn't possibly be inexpensive. I chalked all of that price hype up to marketing.
We shall see!
Gonzo @ Apr 26th 2006 2:35PM
Still better than the preliminary guesses of $500-$700 but still a bit too pricy to be a keeper for me. It'll make the ebayers happy though.
Serge @ Apr 26th 2006 2:35PM
Good joke... PS3 won't be cheaper than 499$ this fall.
Paul @ Apr 26th 2006 2:36PM
I don't like it. If they launch at that price with the number of systems they claim to be shipping, there will be massive shortages. They could afford to charge much more. Of course, massive shortages might be a marketing approach, so if that is their goal it would work well.
Vagabond Artist @ Apr 26th 2006 2:36PM
Yeah, PSM is hardly the most reliable gaming mag out there.
bandit @ Apr 26th 2006 2:36PM
I dont think they really have a choice as far as the price in concerned. Make it competitive or die basically. Also are any other companies besides Sony subsidizing the PS3 cost? i.e. will the Ps3 launch with disney trailers and other ad driven content pre-installed on the HDD?
T-Bone McSassy @ Apr 26th 2006 2:37PM
At a price point like that I think there will be a lot of people picking up both a PS3 and a Revolution this holiday season.
Eric @ Apr 26th 2006 2:38PM
Wait...you mean the "Unofficial" playstation magazine got its hands on some ground breaking news that just kind of sort of slipped by the "Official" playstation magaizine that more than likely would publish real confirmed news instead of trying to sell their magaizine with rumor mill headlines?? REALLY?
Cool...
apoc06 @ Apr 26th 2006 2:38PM
i just read through the link. im hesitant to believe the authenticity of the article, because it says the the harddrive will be "non-removable". doesnt that go against what was initially stated by sony? UNLESS they plan to use SD card and memory sticks for saves/ media... etc...
id rather see scans of the magazine before i believe this in its entirety
Prof-KOS @ Apr 26th 2006 2:39PM
I don't believe it for a second. This is pure speculation on price, and frankly the release "date" probably didn't take much thought or creativity.
CapAmerica @ Apr 26th 2006 2:41PM
So lets see this xmas we will get to pick:
PS3 = $399
Xbox360 Platinum = $299
Revolution = $199
Not looking good for Sony in my book. Its like Playstation vs. Saturn all over again, but this time Sony is in Sega's place.
Gary @ Apr 26th 2006 2:42PM
I hope it's true. I want all the upcoming systems and at that price point it wouldn't break my bank too much. Hopefully this forces a nice price drop on the 360 too.
Paul @ Apr 26th 2006 2:43PM
#8, that's what people said when the "Unofficial Nintendo Magazine" revealed Zelda would be playable on Revolution and would be delayed till fall months ago, a full two months before Nintendo admitted it.
David @ Apr 26th 2006 2:49PM
We'll see in about two weeks, heres to wishful thinking.
Brandon @ Apr 26th 2006 2:50PM
Thats absolutely ridiculous. It will be no cheaper then 599 in america and the head of sony europe said himself it would be 499- 599 euros. Completely false.
SuicideNinja @ Apr 26th 2006 2:54PM
I don't like PSM. They've never got their info straight. The PS3 is supposed to be a "lifestyle server" according to them. I'm still trying to decipher what the F%#$ that means. How about a "game console". Anyway, the price is good news, if accurate.
Reading the mag is painful (room mate gets it, and we all peruse). Not to mention, in one issue they knock the 360, and then in the next issue they praise it (inadverte. WTF...
For the record, I don't like OXM either. We get that, too. As a multiconsole owner, I need a multiconsole magazine like Game Informer. The biased mags are really annoying.
Anyway, if the hard drive isn't removable, then the PS3 fanboys are going to be pissed. The 360 fanboys come in swinging with, "...at least our hard drive is upgradeable..." I doubt Sony would be stupid enough to make the hard drive not removable....but they have had their share of blunders in the past...
bajanbadboy @ Apr 26th 2006 2:55PM
$400 thats great,now i can buy one.
Eric @ Apr 26th 2006 2:56PM
@ David
I second that but I'll 1 up you...We'll see come November, to wishful thinking.
Sabre @ Apr 26th 2006 2:57PM
"UNLESS they plan to use SD card and memory sticks for saves/ media... etc..."
Well there ARE slots on the system (and the SDK units seen at GDC) for Compact Flash, Memory Stick and maybe even SD (I think.)
/crosses fingers
But oh good god please let it be true. Although I hope it comes out before Black Friday b/c I was planning trying to buy 2-3 extra systems and making a profit on eBay. hehe
Odds Bodkins @ Apr 26th 2006 3:13PM
If this price point includes a system with a controller and a HD. Great! I hope we don't have another "premium" vs. "core" scenario like we had with the 360.
I'm sure Sony can get away with selling them as high as $499.99 this holiday season. You gotta figure even at that price point, they're won't be enough systems to go around...so why not milk the folks who need the system on day 1? Most of them would be willing to shell out five hundred bucks.
I wonder if the 360 will drop in price at all if this happens. My guess is no, as it will only be year two for that system.
I'm sure the Nintendo Revo will be cheaper than both...but just HOW much? My guess is that system will come in at $299.99.
With the prices of a PS3 and a Revo (plus games and accessories) I doubt we'll see too many people, outside of the hardcore, shelling out for both systems...let alone also investing in an HDTV over this (Gonna be a whole lot of college students raking up credit card debt over this).
I wonder if either Sony or Nintendo (or both) will miss the release for the US Holiday season? Then we'd have another year of speculation from one of the big two. Part of me wishes we could fast-forward and see where the industry is at Q4 2007.
soco @ Apr 26th 2006 3:17PM
i've long said it'd come in at 399$ just to surprise everyone. i however doubt hte 322Euro part. i'm guessing someone has converted the price on current exchange rates. the same logic would dictate that the PS2 should be about 105E while the US version is 129$, but it's not. and the games, including the sony games, are priced at similar numbers to their American counterparts.
Sabre @ Apr 26th 2006 3:19PM
The hard drive is required to use the system...so there most likely won't the "core" vs. "premium" problem (which was a dumb move I might add.)
draco @ Apr 26th 2006 3:22PM
if this is true thats great news for me, that means the system will be 499.99 CDN (most likely) or even 449.99 if we dont get screwed on exchange rate.
I can easily afford that for a Blu-Ray player, and would be completely willing to shell it out on launch. This will be my first launch purchase since my Dreamcast. and at this price they are garanteed to sell everything they have at launch and for a long time (maybe longer then X360 they will be sold out) so that means there will be more developer support :D Happy Days!
assuming this isnt for some sort of Core package (although with HDD standard what would be in the premium?)
jaemz @ Apr 26th 2006 3:25PM
Any story that starts off "The folks at Team Xbox have picked up the latest issue of PSM" makes me think this might only be a rumor...
csokn @ Apr 26th 2006 3:25PM
Odds Bodkins: Revolution for $300? That would go against everything Nintendo has said for the last, well, ever. I'm all for a healthy distrust of video game companies, but if they try to sell me what amounts to an xbox with a goofy controller for $300, heads will roll.
jay @ Apr 26th 2006 3:25PM
*chortle* yea. right. The PS3 is going to be 224. I'll believe it when I see it.
Miharu @ Apr 26th 2006 3:30PM
The official European price will be at least 399. I'm guessing 499.
riffgod @ Apr 26th 2006 3:35PM
PSM? What a joke. Why would Sony leak that info to PSM. I used to have a subscription to that pathetic excuse for a magazine. I was sent an Xbox 360 info guide with it last May after E3. They were talking about creating an Xbox 360 magazine. How that was a spinoff of PSM I don't know. I wasn't offended since I am not loyal to any console, but apparently a lot of gamers were because they had to explain themselves in the next issue. Apparently they got more complaints than gamer enthuiasm.
LONG STORY SHORT...I doubt that Sony would even priviledge PSM with that information let alone use it as the source to unveil theie precious secret.
Josh @ Apr 26th 2006 3:35PM
FAKE. What kind of a number is 322? 322? Who does that?
And 45,965? 965? What?
FAKE. FAKE. FAKE.
Arch @ Apr 26th 2006 3:43PM
ok something is wrong. BLURAY drive and 60 gig hardrive for 399?
either someone is lying about the price or the hardware is severely underpowered from what is to be expected from the uber next gen the PS3 is supposedly bringing. hardware costs $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$
Yazzer @ Apr 26th 2006 3:46PM
Wow, PSM's website is a bit outdated. Since the issue they feature is "Playstation 3 Uncovered" it took me a few seconds to realize that this is an issue from last fall.
http://www.psmonline.com/
LuckyT @ Apr 26th 2006 3:47PM
This is just PSM's speculation, absolutely nothing more. It's not even something they claim to have heard on the grapevine, as far as I know.
I expect $499 at least. No way will $399 happen with the HDD. And I don't expect the price to be revealed at E3.
NZERO @ Apr 26th 2006 3:47PM
I call this BS. The European price is never going to be that low and we all know that the price is to low it is so fake. I say $500 as the lowest it is still affordable but only by a small margin and also it can compete with the 360 with the price but with the rev both the 360 and PS3 lose to that price which i suspect $250 for rev. $500 is good enough price to not lose that much money off the console and kind of still compete with the 360's $400 premium console which is the better deal then the 300 dollar one which is a total rip off.
Sabre @ Apr 26th 2006 3:50PM
60GB hard drive aren't THAT much man. Unlike Microsoft which ripped people off by charging $100 for a 20GB hard drive (only 13GB usable)...a 60GB HDD bought in bulk shouldn't cost that much.
J B Cougar @ Apr 26th 2006 3:53PM
I figured out how they got to 399, and this explanation makes the whole contoller snafu from a few months ago make perfect sense:
They simply cut it out entirely! That's right, you get the shiny PS3 and no controllers -- ONLY $399!
don_sf @ Apr 26th 2006 3:54PM
if thats the case then the ps3 is the baaaaaaag for sure.
but seriosly that seems to good to be true, its just getting peopls hopes up for 1 and a half minutes, like me.
how ever much it is, it will definatly be worth evry bit.
quiz:
whats so different and revolutionairy about the xbox 360 from the ps2, xbox 180 and gamecube.
Justin @ Apr 26th 2006 3:55PM
If this is true, then expect this system to be held together with bubble gum and duck tape.
Gareth @ Apr 26th 2006 4:02PM
"The asking price? $399 for US."
399 here in the UK then.
Eques @ Apr 26th 2006 4:03PM
#32 That's what it was going to be made out of anyway.
draco @ Apr 26th 2006 4:11PM
come to think of it for us Canucks the PS3 may be cheaper then PS2 (when it was released)after exchange rate
PS2 was released at $299.99 US right? exchange rate was about 1.5:1 so thats $449.99 CDN
PS3 at $399.99 at exchange of 1.1:1 is $440.00
if thi9s US price rings true, then I expect a $449.99 PS3 like the PS2 was (Im not sure what it costed but close to that eh?)
geves @ Apr 26th 2006 4:16PM
i don't even have to say anything on this one...
this is SO fake. when someone from sony's top says that it's a family machine & you'll have to save up for it (i don't recall the comments). you know it's going to be a high price.
you mean SONY will be taking a bigger loss than MS on each system sold?
it's possible, just to be competitive. but not likely.
of course they have built up the power of this system to be the next god. even thought devs have said it'll be right next to the 360 (disappointing) in terms of launch titles.
sorry PS3 fanboys...but it looks like you won't be getting a 10 times better system after all. wow you mean SONY lied? i haven't heard that in like at least 2 weeks.
i'll admit that SONY has some good PRs. but when it comes down to it. you'll be getting a slighty stronger console (think xbox---> PS2). they've pretty much just exchanged roles. sony will still win based on the name, and their habit of buying up every possible game that comes across. but it's about the same thing.
my point??? sony isn't stupid enough to launch at this price. after how much they are supposed to be stronger than 360, accourding to retards (killzone 2) they'll milk it for at least $100 more. this info is trash.
Jeff @ Apr 26th 2006 4:18PM
"Wait...you mean the "Unofficial" playstation magazine got its hands on some ground breaking news that just kind of sort of slipped by the "Official" playstation magaizine"
You're new around here, aren't you?
Official magazines are basically the spokespeople for the company concerned. As such, they are bound by whatever rules Sony sets down for their coverage.
PSM is bound by no such rules. If they get wind of a news story, they print it.
NDA's may be involved, sure. NDA's are also broken routinely. So there will be some bad blood between PSM and Sony for a while. The difference is Sony can't up and sever ties with PSM like they can with OPM. Sony can't very well strip PSM of its "unofficial" status, can it?
No doubt OPM has this information as well and cannot print it.
And a $399 price point is no surprise to me. Those of you doubting it have swallowed the hype hook, line and sinker. This has been a strategy of Sony's all along - pump up the system by making it seem ridiculously expensive to make, then surprise everybody (except those of us who saw through it) with what then sounds like a reasonable price point. I mean let's not forget that 2 years ago, $399 would have been considered completely outrageous for a game console. MS opened the door for Sony to charge that price, and given Sony's past comments, now it seems almost inexpensive.
As for the Blu-Ray drive, I think some of you are forgetting that this is a bare-bones PLAYER. It is not a recorder, it does not have a remote, it does not have an LCD display, it does not have a lot of the same outputs as other standalone players, and it's unclear whether it will even do stuff like upsampling of regular DVD's (like other players will). It will be to BD what the PS2 was to DVD, i.e. a crappy player that's just barely good enough to whet people's appetites for the format before they move on to a real standalone unit.
Phant0m @ Apr 26th 2006 4:26PM
1. its fake cause its been made up only using american pricing not even japanese
2. as the 360 currently costs 399E, 279 and $399 the ps3 has got be aleast the same amount probably more
3. sony have stated that their machine will have a removable 60gb 2.5" hard drive (360 currently a 20gb 2.5" hard drive)
Gareth @ Apr 26th 2006 4:34PM
draco, if the exchange rate is taken into consideration over there then you're a lot luckier than us guys in the UK. We're frequently shafted by imaginary $1 = 1 exchange rates. :(
MaX PL and the 360 r4pe Tr4iN @ Apr 26th 2006 4:34PM
all of you who are still thinking Sony is hyping the "expensive" aspect are out of your minds.
Playstation 3 costs roughly 850 to 930 dollars to manufacture depending on the drive speed, etc.
If they launch at $399, they will not make any money from the console.
1 year passes and the cost to manufacture drops a bit. they are still not making money.
2 years pass, thyre still losing money, and oh wait, we get a price drop to $299. But manufacturing costs are still above $500.
Now lets consider Sony's financial state. They have just spent, what is it, $70 million on CELL development? or is it a different amount?
Sony is at a loss here. Game sales wont pass the tremendous losses per console for the first 2 years.
You people still hoping for a $399 price point for a hardware costing $900 are out of your minds.
striderhayasa @ Apr 26th 2006 4:43PM
This is retarded epecially since it's already been reported that Sony will not reveal the price at E3 and the PS3 will have a downplayed presence at the show. 399? For a blu-ray DVD player, Cell processor, Nvidia next gen graphics chip, 3.2Ghz processor, 512 MBs of RAM and a 60GB HDD? Who would believe that and what are they smoking?
T-Bone McSassy @ Apr 26th 2006 5:03PM
I think Sony would prefer to loose money instead of market share.
I bet the executives at Sony Japan would have gladly lost a couple hundred million on a successful MP3 player system than to have to watch Apple grow to top dog.
Zed @ Apr 26th 2006 5:06PM
US$399? US$950 here in Brazil then.
Brock @ Apr 26th 2006 5:10PM
Welp, i'll be picking up a PS3 and Rev this novemeber.... Let the gaming madness begin. This kinda news I like. What i DON"T LIKE is the news story ealier today that E3 is going to reveal NOTHING and we will have to wait until "a later point" to reveal pricing and all the nit picky details that everybody has been waiting for... friggin garbage if you ask me!