LOS ANGELES, May 9 (UPI) -- Sony's PlayStation 3 will likely be widespread in stores in time for Christmas.
Sony announced Monday that its latest video-game console would be released in the key U.S. market on Nov. 17 and would ship about 4 million units by year's end.
PS 3 will jockey for consumer attention during the critical holiday shopping season with new consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo at a retail price of about $500 for the 20 gigabyte system and $600 for the 60 GB version.
The stiff price is due in part to the inclusion of a Blu-ray video player that could make PS 3 a cornerstone of an overall home entertainment system rather than strictly a video-game device.
"PlayStation 3 is the most ambitious project we at Sony Computer Entertainment have ever undertaken," Chief Executive Officer Kaz Hirai said at a news conference in Los Angeles.
Sony said it expected to ship 6 million units by March. By comparison, 104 million PlayStation 2 units have been shipped since its introduction in 2000.
