I expect the PS4 to cost $399, but if Sony were to release the system some people think they will it would cost over $600 ...

At the same time, I can't completely discount Sony doing something foolish either; and I could see the engineers designing high end hardware under the assumption the company would take a large loss, and the accountants looking at the financial position of the company and forcing the system to (at least) break even.

I'm hoping for 399 even though I suspect Sony might be willing to go for 449. I don't think they'll go as high as 499 as people still remember how dreadful the initial period was for the PS3 at 500 and 600.

$399.

2 SKUs most likely so I suppose the question is whether SCE can offer a stripped model like the unwanted 20GB PS3 SKU for $349 or will offer a "deluxe" model/bundle for $449.

Maybe both.

It doesn't matter, because the bunny flies in the direction of the sunset.

Sony isn't dumb, they are watching how the market responds to Nintendo, and will act accordingly. They can make a dualshock 4, and match wii u like vita matched (and exceeded) 3DS.

I expect PS4 to be $350 as the standard SKU with a $400 premium bundle with some type of ps-exclusive service or feature (move?ps plus?). Sony isn't cheaping out like Nintendo on strength. they might lose a little but anything over $400 is preposterous!

first of all we dont know, MSs next console could be priced in the >400 range

second of all i doubt launch price really affected the PS3 this gen as much as you believe, imo it really was the competition or MS providing a console that could match sonys once exclusive offerings ie mega 3rd party exclusive support among other things. ps1-2 days sony had all the big games exclusive driver, resident evil, silienthill, final fantasy, metal gear solid and gta. now that the 3rd partys arent exclusive to sony it isnt able to be in a league of its own selling over 100M consoles instead its sales are similar to MSs and so far both consoles combined are about what ps2 total sales are alone

if theres nothing that makes the ps4 stand out compared to MS next console or any exclusive that can finally go feature for feature with MSs halo gears and forza than sony will have more to worry bout than just launch price

i believe no higher than 500 no lower than 400

and for the love of god sony if your gonna use a SSD or HDD please give us the option to install games fully or why bother giving us this amount of space (120-500gb in this gens case)

I could see a $300 model and a $400 premium model (i.e. bigger hard drive, more USB ports, nicer looking finish, etc.)

I could also see the cheapest model being $400...but would be literally shocked if it started at over this number.

Nintendo produced a system that was larger, used more energy, was sold at a higher price, and is sold at a loss (rather than turning a profit) to get the Wii U to the performance level it is. While Sony can probably release a more powerful system, I don't think Sony has the room to make a system that is dramatically more powerful than the Wii U and not sell it for significantly more money; especially when you consider that Sony is currently trying to fight-off bankruptcy and (probably) can't afford to take a loss hundreds of millions of dollars to sell hardware.

imma say 350-450

I see a $400 price tag for the basic and a $450-$500 price tag for the premium, so $100 cheaper than the PS3 at launch. Because of the falling Blu-ray, HDD, and RAM prices, Sony will be able to put in a really good CPU/APU and GPU and still either break even or make a very small loss on the HW.

@ BHR-3

You're very wrong if you think the PS3 launching for $200 more than the 360 had little to do with the 360's success. Do you honestly think that if the PS3 had launched at only $50 more than the 360, as well as not having weaker ports for the first two years, MS would have even stood a chance? Even when the RROD hit? Unfortunately for MS, it looks like the PS4 is going to launch at nearly the same price, at nearly the same time, and have the same support. This going to lead to EU and Japan latching onto the PS much quicker then the current gen. And America may not be there to save the NeXbox.