Sony's next generation console, the PlayStation 3 (PS3), will cost between €500 and €600 when it goes on sale in November.
The announcement was made by Georges Fornay, vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe in an interview on the Europe 1 radio program Générations Europe 1.
He said: "If we only look at the game function, it's true that consoles were usually priced under €500. We will be at this price point.
"It will be expensive if we only look at the game aspect of the machine, but it will be very cheap if we account for the set of technologies that it will integrate."
The news comes two weeks after the company announced that it was postponing the launch of the PS3 until November.
Technical hitches related to the machines Blu-ray high-definition DVD player have forced the delay.
The company had originally planned to release its new console in the spring.
Georges Fornay, Sony: "It will be expensive if we only look at the game aspect of the machine, but it will be very cheap if we account for the set of technologies that it will integrate."
The PS3 will compete with Microsoft's Xbox 360, which went on sale last December in Europe, and Nintendo's Revolution, which is due for release in the fourth quarter of 2006.
The Xbox 360 comes in two packages in Europe. A premium version sells for €399 and a core version is priced at €299.
Microsoft said it expects to sell ten million units of the new console worldwide within fourteen months of the launch.
In addition to playing games, the Xbox 360 can also be used to watch DVDs, view photos and listen to music.
The Revolution will cost under $300 (€245) in the US, according to Nintendo officials.
The PS3 will launch with a 60 GB hard drive and will be able to play existing PS2 and PS1 games.
The console is compatible with a variety of TV sets currently out in the market, including standard-definition and high-definition models.
Users can also connect the PS3 to high-speed broadband networks through Gigabit Ethernet and enjoy a range of content and services over the network.
Sony, the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker, has dominated the games console market for many years with the success of its PlayStation 1 (PS1) and PlayStation 2 (PS2).
The company has sold more than 90 million PS2s and over 100 million PS1s worldwide.
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