- This week’s PS5 price and release date leak from Amazon France wasn’t an accident, but a doctored screenshot.
- The fake listing circulated online for a few days before Amazon France confirmed it wasn’t genuine.
- Sony did list the PS5, PS5 Digital Edition, and new accessories on Amazon in various markets, without revealing cost details or launch information.
The PlayStation 5 has been the talk of the town for a few days now, and that’s thanks to a combination of leaks and official news about the new console. Sony’s design reveal last Thursday certainly helped get the conversation going, mainly because of the unusual design of the gaming rig. But the new PlayStation was also the subject of a few pricing leaks, as the new console was listed on Amazon in various countries. Amazon UK customers found last week that they could order a “2TB PS5” console for £599.99, but the retailer noted those were errors. After Sony’s event, the official PlayStation account that sells on Amazon France put up listings for the two new PS5 versions, as well as all the upcoming PS5 accessories that Sony showed during the design reveal trailer last week. A screenshot of the PS5 listing for France started circulating online, as it contained the price and release date of the console. Amazon France now says the image is fake.
“The screenshot showing a PS5 product page on amazon.fr with a price of 499€ and a release date on November 20 is a fake and is not coming from our website,” an Amazon France spokesperson told TechRadar.
The image above made the rounds a few days ago, and we told you to treat is with the same circumspection as any other leak.
The pricing and release date information certainly made sense, given what other leaks claim. The €499.99/$499.99 has always been the sweet spot for the PS5, a console that will deliver a massive performance jump compared to the PS4 Pro. Moreover, the November 20th launch date was mentioned by others in the past. Then again, whoever doctored the screenshot may have used the same leaks for inspiration.
This doesn’t change the fact that Sony is already listing the PS5, PS5 Digital Edition, and DualSense controller on Amazon. Aside from France, Sony has gone ahead and released PS5 pages for Amazon Italy as well. The pages note that the products aren’t available at this time, without revealing costs or ship dates. Sony also added a PS5 presentation page on Amazon USA.
Sony will probably announce actual launch details for the two PS5 consoles and the new accessories in the coming months, as we get closer to that “fall 2020” launch window. At that point, various retailers will offer preorder options, and Amazon seems to be one of them.
It’s unclear, however, when PS5 pricing will drop. Recent reports claimed that Microsoft is looking to undercut Sony this year, and make the Xbox Series X more affordable than the PS5. But Sony already made it clear that it’ll offer buyers two PS5 options, including a more affordable Digital Edition version.
A recent rumor said that Microsoft plans to surprise fans with a variety of Xbox announcements next month, including a very affordable Series S console. The device will supposedly cost half what Microsoft will charge for the Xbox Series X this fall, with the company ready to go as low as $200 to capture a new audience that might otherwise not buy a console in the first place.
