I payed 499 for the 20 gig ps3.then i put a 160 gig hard drive.
But even 499 is to much money.the ps4 wont cost 499 because blu ray drives are cheap.
I say 399 tops. But i would pay more like 450 for the ps4

In this economy, an expensive console is suicide.

I think $499 would be a big mistake...

The PS3 was very expensive, but it was still a great deal for what you got back in '06 as blu-ray was new. Still, it didn't start doing really well until the price came down considerably. What saved Sony was the fact that the 360 didn't fly out of the gate right away either, and the Wii was offering a very different experience.

Today, in a worse economy no less, I don't see a $499 PS4 being able to ever catch up when the NeXtBox will definitely not be more than that (microsoft will see to that, no matter what) and would handily dominate Sony in NA and the UK, while Nintendo would completely obliterate Sony in Japan.

IMHO, Sony's best move is to release a console a bit stronger than WiiU at a price of $399 (or less), while remaining profitable.

$400 max, and that may be too much. Sony is in a very precarious position with their next console.

In Japan, they are facing a WiiU that will have a year's headstart (unlike Wii), and has decent processing power (unlike Wii). Even if the PS4 is significantly better WiiU, if it is also significantly more expensive there is a very real risk of the system crashing and buring. Sony no longer has exclusive 3rd party support to depend on. For reference of possible outcomes, see 3DS and Vita.

In the US the situation is similar. WiiU will likely take a big chunk of the market and then there is XBox360. Speaking as a consumer who has low loyalty to systems, I can say that after being happy with my PS2 I bought a 360 over a PS3 almost entirely because it was significantly cheaper. I think I represent the mass market pretty well.

For Sony to avoid losing more market share it absolutely must offer a compelling system at a good price. I think even $50 over WiiU may spell failure, but that's the limit and it would have to offer something really good.

I think $399 for PS3 is a good launch price. Above that and things could get sour really fast. European economy is in a sad state of affairs. Same with the Japanese economy. By the time PS4 launches, Nintendo could drop the price of the basic Wii U to $249. PS4 would need to launch with true next generation games to be able to command something like $449-499. BluRay player would no longer be a key selling feature as most households either have BluRay players by now or simply consume media at RedBox, Amazon/Neflix/Hulu or other on-demand services. The advantage of BluRay media for movies is not enough to justify the high price. Also, if Xbox 720 has a BluRay drive and costs less than PS4, then that would put even more pressure on PS4's price. I think all of this will depend on who launches first, MS or Sony.

I think Sony would do fine with a 499 price point. Well actually that depends on what the price of the xbox is.

If the next PS3/360 is just an hardware upgrade then you could be right, but what if (and I know is a big if) Sony or MS develop an amazing VR technology and great software and games for it right from the get go I asure people would be willing to pay 500$ for it.

Seeing as sony has more competition now no, but it also depends on the NeXbox's price too. Can't predict anything until i know both side's price point and plans

@Rafux I think it would have to be something like StarTrek's Holodeck, lol. People simply won't pay a fortune for a games machine. It's been shown time again, you need to be the cheapest. Sony established themselves with this strategy, undercutting the Saturn. Mainstream appeal and mainstream price. It worked for PS1, PS2 and Wii. Sony needs something slick, capable, fun and affordable. If it's too cutting edge and expensive they will slip further into a niche market.

while i'd be willing to pay $500 for the right device... i fear i'm in the vast minority.