PS5 price and release date: Sony finally reveals how much PlayStation 5 will cost and when it will arrive
Sony has finally revealed the price and release date of the PlayStation 5.
The console will arrive in November, days after the Xbox Series X, it said during a showcase event at which it also showed off a host of new games.
But the UK will have to wait another week, getting the console later than many other countries.
When it does arrive, it will cost $499.99, the same in euros, £449.99 or ¥49,980. The digital edition, which is the same but does not come with a disc drive, costs $399, the same in euros, £359.99 or ¥39,980.
The PS5 will come out on 12 November in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand and South Korea.
The rest of the world will have to wait another week, until 19 November.
The Xbox Series X and Series S will arrive earlier, and cost less for the entry level model.
Microsoft’s consoles both drop on 10 November, with pre-orders opening on 22 September. Sony did not give any information about when pre-orders might open.
The Xbox Series X costs the exact same as the more expensive version of the PlayStation 5: £449, $499, or €499.
But Microsoft is also offering the Xbox Series S for a considerably lower price. That will cost £249, $299 or €299 – $100 or pounds cheaper than the digital PS5.
Microsoft is also offering both consoles through its “Xbox All Access” programme, which allows players to pay monthly for the consoles along with a subscription to Game Pass Ultimate. Sony did not announce any kind of subscription deal of its own.
Microsoft was widely seen to have blinked first in a long-running stand-off between the two console companies, as they both waited for the other to reveal how much their console would cost and when it would arrive. In the end, the company’s hand appeared to have been forced by a leaked video that revealed just about all of the details of both the Xbox Series X and Series S.
That left PlayStation fans pleading with Sony to reveal the same details about its console.
The company is already offering a strange pre-order programme through its US website, offering players the ability to request an invitation to pre-order the console without any information on when it might actually come. Potential customers must also submit a request, and Sony says it will choose successful entrants in part based on their PlayStation history.
The PS5’s headline feature is a very fast SSD, which allows the console to access storage for games so quickly that Sony says it will practically do away with loading screens. It is also said to have a new processor for dramatically improved, three-dimensional audio, and other upgrades.
The company has also shown off its unusual design, which has been compared to everything from a Wi-Fi router to a duck’s bill.
The Xbox Series X has also drawn its fair share of ridicule, with its large square shape being compared to a fridge and a brutalist skyscraper.
Read more
PlayStation 5 pre-orders open, but without a price or release date
