Sony's holding its PlayStation 5 "The Future of Gaming" event tomorrow and the gaming industry is bracing itself for the wave of announcements. But some aren't bracing as well as others. Wednesday morning Amazon UK is reported to have accidentally pushed a listing for the PS5 live. The placeholder listing went up for two different PS5 models, featuring what's presumed to be a placeholder price, and even allowed at least one person to put in an early pre-order.
The price is certain to be the most interesting aspect of the leaked PS5 listing. It must be said that this PS5 price doesn't confirm anything officially, of course. A placeholder price rarely refers to official information. Nevertheless, perhaps Amazon UK knows more than everyone else. The PS5 listing is priced at £599.99. The PS4, by comparison, launched at £350 in the UK and $399 in the USA. The SKU listed on Amazon is for a 2TB version of the PS5.
However, as previously mentioned, two different PS5 SKUs were listed on Amazon UK. Both the 2TB and the previously announced 1TB version of the PS5 were briefly listed. The 1TB version of the PS5 had the same price as the 2TB version, further cementing the idea that this is a placeholder price. If there are two PS5 SKUs, they're certainly not going to be the same price.
Just because the evidence seems to imply that these prices are wholly unreliable doesn't make them entirely unrealistic, however. Yes, the 1TB version of the PS5 is certain to be meaningfully lower in price than the 2TB version. But if the 2TB PS5 version does exist, a £599.99 price point is possible. In recent years, prices between the UK and the US have been moving toward being parallel. That could imply a $599 price in the USA for this PS5 model, which is not unrealistic if the base PS5 price is indeed $499 like speculated.
The last interesting detail is that someone was able to place a pre-order from this placeholder. This isn't unprecedented, as placeholder listings for official products are common, with the profile being expanded on and the price adjusting once an official announcement is made. This pre-orderer may be in luck, becoming the world's first to have officially put money down for a PS5. Even more importantly, however, this listing may imply that pre-orders for PS5 could be opening tomorrow during the PS5 event.
How much of Amazon UK's listing for the PS5 proves accurate will be discovered tomorrow during the PS5 "The Future of Gaming" event. It's only one day away.
The PS5 releases holiday 2020.