PS4 price and release date preventing pre-orders among U.S. retailers

Since the PlayStation 4's announcement in February, fans in the UK have been able to pre-order Sony's next-gen console. With a simple £20.00 deposit through GAME — the UK's leading game retailer — those in the UK can get in line for the PS4. Although the price or release date of the console hasn't yet been announced, it isn't stopping gamers from placing their orders; GAME just revealed pre-orders for the PS4 are going very well.

But what about those of us in the United States? When can we expect to see the PS4 up for pre-order? While this will likely vary from retailer to retailer, GameStop — one of the world's largest video game distributors and arguably the largest in the U.S. — is waiting until we get some concrete details about the console. It's likely other retailers are following suit.

"We like to wait until we have a price, release date and allocation information before accepting pre-orders," GameStop President Tony Bartel told Forbes. In terms of actual pricing, Bartel believes consumers are "willing to pay a premium for upgraded technology and innovation," while GameStop's buy-sell-trade program provides a way to circumnavigate expensive consoles.

"The beauty of GameStop’s buy-sell-trade program is that it lets you get into a new console for less money — regardless of the opening price point."

"We don’t yet know when these will be announced, but we’re hoping it will be sometime this summer," Bartel said. Sony was coy in their original PS4 announcement, choosing only to reveal a holiday 2013 release. Like GameStop, the rest of the industry is hoping Sony's E3 conference will confirm the launch date, price, and show what the system actually looks like.

Unfortunately, price will heavily influence my decision in adopting a next-gen console early on. What is your ideal price point for the PS4?