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Sony reveals November release date for PlayStation 5, and $400-500 price point

By Benjamin Bullard
PlayStation 5

Well PlayStation fans, the question's finally been answered. After months and months of speculation, anticipation, and good old fashioned craving — Sony delivered the last little detail that’s been on everyone’s mind since the PS5 made its first introductions to the world back in June: when it’ll be releasing, and how much it’s gonna cost. 

At the very end of today’s PlayStation 5 webcast, Sony dropped a Nov. 12 North American release date for the PS5, along with a full pricing rundown for both its Standard and Digital Edition versions. Here's a handy graphic to help sort things out:

PlayStation 5 pricing graphic

The full-fledged Standard PS5 will cost $499.99, putting it right in line with Microsoft’s flagship Xbox Series X console. Foregoing the optical Blu-ray drive will save PS5 buyers a cool $100: The PS5 Digital Edition will arrive with a $399.99 price tag, making it $100 more costly than the lower-tier, disc drive-free Xbox Series S — but also without any evident sacrifice in processing power over its heftier PS5 sibling. 

Game Awards founder Geoff Keighley tweeted after the presentation that “select retailers” will begin accepting pre-orders for the PS5 starting on Sept. 17, but there was no immediate word on which retailers those might be.

Sony underpromised and overdelivered on its teased 40-minute showcase, unveiling one bombshell game trailer after another, led by the internet-melting announcement that a proper new Final Fantasy game is on the way — and, harkening to Sony’s glory days as the go-to system for all things Final Fantasy, that the upcoming Final Fantasy XVI will arrive as a PlayStation console exclusive.

There were also huge new teases for Spider-Man: Miles Morales, the PS5 Demon’s Souls remake, a new Harry Potter-themed game set at Hogwarts, and more — but Sony saved the down-and-dirty console details for last. While buyers in North America, Japan, Australia, and South Korea will get in on the PS5 action beginning Nov. 12, the “rest of the world,” as Sony put it, will have to hang on a week until the PS5 releases in other markets on Nov. 19.