The cheapest brand-new console that can play Grand Theft Auto VI on launch day is a PlayStation 5 that costs about $350 with one important caveat being that you can only buy and use it in Japan. On October 13, Sony announced a Midnight Black version of its Japan-only PS5 Digital Edition, priced at ¥55,000 and launching November 19, the same day GTA 6 arrives.
The console is the PS5 Digital Edition Midnight Black, model CFI-2200B02S, at ¥55,000 with tax, which converts to roughly $350. Pre-orders open October 20 at select Japanese retailers and online stores. A matching Midnight Black disc drive arrives the same day for ¥11,980, about $75. This is a new color for the Japanese-language Digital Edition that Sony introduced in 2025 and the hardware is the standard slim Digital Edition, an 825 GB SSD and no performance bump.
Again, before you celebrate, you can't just travel to Japan to buy this console or have someone there buy it for you. The system language is fixed to Japanese and the console only works with a PlayStation Network account set to Japan as its country, the same restriction Sony put on the cheaper Japanese-language model last year.
For most of the world, this $350 PS5 is a very expensive centerpiece, since its fixed Japanese language and Japan-only PSN account requirement make it impractical to use outside the Land of the Rising Sun.
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So what is the cheapest way in for everyone else? Outside Japan, it's the Xbox. The Xbox Series S at $499.99 for the 512 GB model is the cheapest region-free console that runs GTA 6. Refurbished units sometimes dip to around $399, though that refurbished price is separate from the new-console comparison. At $499.99 new, the Series S is still a steal compared to a standard PS5 Digital Edition that runs about $600 now. The disc model is higher still, so Sony's region-free options cost far more than its Japan-only, Japanese-language model.
Here is where every new console sits on price, cheapest to most expensive.
Console | Price, approximate | The catch |
|---|---|---|
Japan-only PS5 Digital, Midnight Black | About $350 (¥55,000) | Region-locked to Japan, Japanese language and a Japan PSN account only |
Xbox Series S, 512 GB | $499.99 | Region-free and digital only, the cheapest you can really use |
Xbox Series S, 1 TB | $599.99 | Region-free, digital only |
PS5 Digital Edition, standard | About $600 | Region-free, digital only |
Standard PS5 with disc | About $650 | Region-free, plays discs |
Xbox Series X Digital, 1 TB | $749.99 | Region-free, digital only |
Xbox Series X with disc, 1 TB | $799.99 | Region-free, plays discs |
The Japan-only PS5 has the lowest list price, but the Xbox Series S is the cheapest console most people can really use.
This unfortunate pricing situation is the result of new console prices climbing through 2025 and 2026 as memory and storage costs rose. Unlike in previous generations when console prices went down, a digital PS5 now sits near $600 rather than its old launch price. The console itself is also only half of what a player needs to spend. GTA 6 itself runs about $70 to $80 for the standard edition on these platforms and since Rockstar Games is launching GTA 6 on consoles only on November 19, with no PC version announced as of this writing, a PS5 or an Xbox is the only way to play on that day. We took the time to compare the PS5 and Xbox options for GTA 6 if you are weighing which to buy.
So, yes, the $350 PS5 claim is true, but it comes with a very important asterisk. The cheapest way to play GTA 6 on November 19 is a roughly $350 PlayStation 5. It exists, but only with the Japan-only restrictions already described above.
If you want the cheapest flight into Vice City on November 19, the Xbox Series S is still the one to beat. For the rest of what you need that day, we have a full launch-day rundown.