Sony Announces PS3 Pricing

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Sony Announces PS3 Pricing

By: David Utter
2006-05-09

Like Microsoft's Xbox 360, Sony plans to release a pair of PlayStation 3 consoles, the main difference being the hard drive that will be embedded in the machine.

Sony Announces PS3 Pricing

Goodbye rumors, hello facts. Sony (SNE) finally announced the launch dates (November 11th in Japan, November 17th in the US) and prices ($499 and $599) for the PlayStation 3 console.

The price difference represents consoles with a 20GB and a 60GB hard drive. The PS3 will have an Ethernet connection and Bluetooth wireless support; the higher priced model will also support WiFi, and MemoryStick/SD/CompactFlash memory cards.

The PS3 will arrive with a Blu-ray disc drive, supporting Sony's standard for next-generation high-capacity blue laser discs.

Though Sony holds a place in many facets of consumer electronics markets, it is the videogaming segment that comes to the forefront this week. The E3 Expo begins in Los Angeles tomorrow, but a few companies like Sony got a head start on the proceedings.

Sony has dominated the console gaming market for several years, while Nintendo (NTDOY), which became the next big gaming console company after Atari fell to Earth, seems to have accepted its place behind Sony.

Microsoft (MSFT) wants Sony's place in the gaming world, but has found the going rough. Its latest game console, the Xbox 360, suffers from scarcity of both the unit and a must-have title like "Halo" for the original Xbox. Default pricing for Xbox 360 games has been $60 for new titles, compared to the long-standing $50 ceiling virtually all other titles for console and PC games stay under.

Sony has been the leader, with a vast library of games and a formidable hold on the Japan and US gaming markets. Microsoft has been almost a non-player in Tokyo and Kyoto. Nintendo just keeps rolling along and pushing out hugely popular little gaming systems like the GameBoy Advance SP and the DS, soon to arrive as an updated DS Lite in the US.

Nintendo and Sony work at a different pace than Microsoft, with its leaked memos and early announcements about entering markets. Nintendo has its vision of gaming and follows it; although observers have been critical of the recently announced name for its new console, Wii (pronounced "wee"), Nintendo has brushed off the criticism.

Sony makes its own time in the gaming market. This year, Blu-ray makes for a different scenario. The next-generation DVD format finally began reaching the market as Sony announced last week that 25GB versions of recordable Blu-ray media were beginning to ship, with dual layer 50 GB discs shipping in June.

The main point many observers immediately made was "where's the burners?" Sony has announced that hardware will be arriving soon, but no dates have been set. We definitely know when the PS3 will be out, though, and that consumers can have Blu-ray playback devices in their homes for the holidays.

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Tags: Sony, PlayStation 3, PS3

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About the Author:
David Utter is a staff writer for InternetFinancialNews and WebProNews covering technology and business.


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