After much speculation and rumour about the final price of the Sony PlayStation 3, one retailer has finally put the device up for pre-order on its website — for the shockingly high price of £549.

Play.com has the PS3 listed for sale, with availability listed as due for release on 17 November.

The site notes, "Due to an expected European shortage of the PS3, we are unable to guarantee delivery of your PS3 before Christmas. All pre-orders will be fulfilled on a first come, first served basis and game titles in this package may be changed, subject to availability".

The £549 model features 60GB of memory, plus wireless connectivity, but it costs almost a hundred dollars more than the expected retail price of £430.

According to one report, Gamestation have promised to sell the PS3 at around £424.99.

Other retailers like Amazon.co.uk who already have the PS3 as a listed item have not yet released pricing information and aren't accepting orders.

>> Sony - Official website of Sony