Sony launches PlayStation 5
Sony announced that the PlayStation 5 will cost $499.99 when it launches on November 12, alongside the $399.99 digital edition, and pre-orders will begin on September 17 at “select retailers.”
Pricing pits Sony against Microsoft’s next-gen console, as the company prepares to launch the entry-level Xbox Series S at $299 and the flagship Xbox Series
The November 12th release date will apply to the US, Japan, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea, with the rest of the world getting the update on November 19th.
Sony also notes that it has not yet finalized a release date for China, which it will announce at a later date.
For comparison, the PlayStation4 cost $399 at launch, though it currently sells for $299, while the PlayStation 4 Pro originally sold for $399, a price it still sells for today outside of mainstream sales.
It’s not clear if Sony plans to lower prices or discontinue older models once the PlayStation 5 launches later this year.
It’s also worth noting that the PlayStation 5 will include backwards compatibility for the “vast majority” of the current PlayStation 4 lineup, though details are still slim, and this expanded library may help make it more attractive to potential PlayStation buyers over older consoles.
Additionally, that starting price, while certainly expensive, wouldn’t make it the most expensive console sold by Sony, still the PlayStation 3, which costs $499 for the 20GB model or $599 for the 60GB, which after nearly a decade and a half, still makes it one of the most expensive consoles ever announced.
