One devout PlayStation fan has shelled out over $15,000 for a 20th Anniversary PS4, making it one of the most expensive console purchases in recent years.
To celebrate 20 years of PlayStation, Sony (NYSE: SNE) released a special edition 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 console to commemorate the event. Limited to just 12,300 units globally, these special PS4’s have become one of the hottest collector’s edition game consoles on the market.
Just how much are people willing to spend on these grey PS4’s? Sony has attached an official $499 price tag for the anniversary bundle, but since quantities are so limited, eBay auctions have sprung up commanding prices up to 20 times the retail value.
People are making some big bucks flipping these consoles to say the least.
One eBay bidder went so far as to spend $15,100 on a 20th Anniversary PS4–that’s 30 times Sony’s official asking price. Technologysupps, the seller of the high-value console, confirmed to website Gamer Headlines that the buyer has already paid for the system, proving the buyer’s authenticity and dispelling any claims of it being a “troll” bid.
“Money is in the bank,” the seller told Gamer Headlines. “Sent him an eBay invoice with the grand total and was paid immediately via PayPal. No questions, doubts or anything.”
Another auction has a top bid of $9,200, with 4 hours remaining as of the time of publication. The listing has seen 35 bidders.
What’s so special about these systems? The 20th Anniversary PlayStation 4 features a grey paint job that mimics the classic PlayStation’s, and is engraved with a swatch of the iconic console’s symbols–X’s, squares, circles and triangles. The console is bundled with a DualShock 4 that matches the stylized theme, as well as a PlayStation Camera and a vertical stand for the system.
All in all the PS4’s have become a hot item due to their extremely limited availability. 12,300 units may seem like a decent amount, but this is a global figure, and just about every PlayStation fan wants to get their hands on one.
There are a smattering of eBay auctions in the $1,000+ price range as well. This listing for instance is topped at $1,075, which is a far cry from $9,000 or even $15,000 for that matter, but it’s still an absurd amount of money for what’s essentially a painted PlayStation 4 with a silver tag on it.
We’re willing to bet that none of these high bidders will unbox and fire up the system to play on; these consoles will most likely become a treasured trinket in a collector’s prized PlayStation collection.
Even still people are still stirred in a frenzy for the chance to make a quick buck (or a quick 15,000 bucks) by flipping the systems, and we’ll likely see this trend continue until all the consoles have been accounted for.
Thanks, Polygon!
