Japan’s Asahi Shimbun, a major daily newspaper, has issued a report on the PlayStation 4, indicating that Sony’s new console will launch this year in both Japan and North America. While there was no price listed for the North American console, the Japanese console was said to be “over 40,000 yen,” approximately $428.
While it pays to remember the past, in which the PlayStation 3 launched with a top-end price of $600, the present is perhaps more telling. Even the latest PlayStation 3 models, pared down to more or less the essentials in both construction and functionality, only come in bundles that approach or exceed $300. While the Xbox 360 is often available cheaper, Sony has kept its PS3 price in the range of Nintendo’s recently-released Wii U. By comparison, even with its lower-than-PS3-launch price and higher-end hardware, the upcoming console feels “expensive.”
Source: The Verge