First firm indication on pricing emerges from Sony's recently appointed CEO

Nov 22, 2005 15:56 GMT  ·  By

Sony CEO Howard Stringer has given the clearest indication yet of the company's launch plans for PlayStation 3, stating that the next-gen system will enter the market at between $300 and $400 when it arrives in mid-2006.

Stringer has confirmed that the PS3 will initially be sold at a significant loss in order to drive the Blu-Ray next-generation DVD standard out into the marketplace.

His comments confirm speculation that Sony will be subsidizing the Blu-Ray hardware for PS3, and should quell fears that the console would enter the market at a very high price point due to the cost of the Blu-Ray drives.

Another element which does directly cite the British-born Sony boss, however, is regarding the media bundle which will ship with the PS3 - with Stringer stating that the console will come with a bundle of games, movies and TV shows.

Some speculation has emerged over whether the content Stringer refers to might ship on a built-in hard drive on the PS3, but the firm has already stated that the console won't ship with an internal hard drive - instead offering users the option of adding one using a 2.5" hard drive bay on the back of the machine.

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