Sony has announced that their next generation gaming system, the Playstation 3, will cost either $499 (for a 20GB hard drive) or $599 (for a 60GB hard drive). Sony plans to launch US sales Nov. 17–six days after the Japanese launch. According to News.com “Sony is committed to shipping 4 million PS3s by Dec. 31 and another 2 million by March 31, 2007.” Sony is banking on people paying a premium above Microsoft’s Xbox 360 (priced at $399 and $299) for the PS3’s Blue-ray DVD technology.

Personally, I’ll pass on Sony’s new platform, and I think many average gamers and families will too. At $600 dollars, the PS3 is for serious Sony fanboys only. You can buy a mid-range PC for $600, and I think many people will make this comparison. Sorry Sony, I think the PS3 is way over priced for mass consumption.