The first-off-the-line Anniversary Edition PlayStation 4 went for ¥15.135 million in an online charity auction last night, which converts to a stunning $128,000. Sony Japan’s auction ended this weekend with the huge bid on the special grey console, which is unit “00001” of 12,300.
“We appreciate all who participated in the auction and are surprised at the highest bid price, which was higher than our expectations,” a Sony representative told the Wall Street Journal.
To recap, the limited-edition console went on sale last month with just a $500 price tag. The grey system and matching controller feature an embossed pattern of the four DualShock face buttons, with 2s in front of the circles to make 20s, as per the 20th anniversary of the first PlayStation. Also included and just-as-grey are the PlayStation Camera, vertical stand and mono headset. Finally, each system is numbered with a plate in the bottom-right of the front panel, showing which of the 12,300 units it is.
As the WSJ notes, the Yahoo Japan site that hosted the auction currently has other Anniversary Edition PS4s sitting at bids of ¥100,000-plus (around $845). On eBay there are similarly priced bids, with systems offered at $1,000 and higher.
If you’re in need of a tonic closer, the good news is just how much money should be going to charity. Sony told the WSJ it’s contacting the auction winner to complete the transaction, and hopefully that’ll go smoothly; we saw with the white Xbox One how charity auctions can go awry. Once that’s done, Sony said it’ll donate the price paid to Save the Children Japan along with a matching gift from the company, making it a charitable double-whammy.
