Sony Playstation 3 Pricing Revealed - *UPDATED*

In a recent radio interview, George Fornay, the Vice President of Sony’s Playstation Division, remarked that the Playstation 3’s price would be between 500 and 600 Euros (approx. $610 to $740 USD) when it was released later this year.  Formay tried to soften the news by mentioning that not only would the end-user be receiving a gaming console, but a Blu-ray player as well.

By contrast, the Xbox 360 Premium currently sells for around $499, and carries an estimated build cost of $501 to $525 USD.  With cost estimates for the PS3 hovering around $725 to $905 USD, if Sony does sell the system near the prices mentioned by Formay, they’ll be taking a fairly substantial loss on the hardware.  If they bring the price down to a point where it’s competitive with the 360, Sony’s losses on hardware will quickly become enormous.  However, fiscal losses on the core consoles are nothing new as historically both Microsoft and Sony have sold their systems at a loss.  The console platforms themselves are only a means to an end, and the disparity between the cost/sales amounts is easily recouped on game and peripheral sales, the real “bread and butter” of the console gaming industry.

Prior even to the launch of the Xbox 360, Sony execs were quick to point out that the PS3 would be an expensive system, and that consumers should start saving money to buy one.  Regardless of the price, there are plenty of gamers who will happily snatch up the new console when it is released, but if Sony does keep the price high, will they pull in enough takers to effectively compete with Microsoft?  Odds are Sony will release the PS3 at a fairly competitive price, and eat the short-term losees in order to win the long-term war.

UPDATE: Information was released after this article was published that indicates Sony has dismissed Fornay’s remarks as “mistranslated or misunderstood”.  Apparently Mr. Fornay was alluding that although the PS3 would be expensive compared to current systems on the market, it would still be quite the value with its Blu-ray and HD capabilities.  Although it has been hypothesized that “current systems on the market” refers only to the PS1 and PS2 systems and not the Xbox 360, Sony has not clarified.

Read More | Bit-tech News (PS3 Pricing)
Read More | C|Net News (Console cost estimates)