PS3 costs $838 in the UK at the European launch on March 23

Sony has said the PlayStation 3 in Europe is still lined up for the March 23 launch date.

However, the pricing is different all over Europe. Gamers in the UK get the worst deal on the 60GB price of a PS3, which in America is $599, in comparison in the UK you pay $838.

Here's the pricing overview:
* Ireland - €629 for 60GB (that's $815)
* Europe - €499 for 20GB / €599 for 60GB (that's $775)
* UK - £425 for 60GB (that's €647 or $838)
* Australia - AU$830 for 20GB / AU$999 for 60GB (that's €608 or $787)

Note: The high dollar price is because of a weak dollar against a stronger euro and British pound.

[InMyOpinion]

One for gaming, and one just in case..

[no_more_heroes]

game consoles just shouldn't be that expensive. No matter what anyone says, no matter how pretty the graphics get, I'm not paying over $400 dollars for a GAME CONSOLE.

[THAMMER1]

I can not see any gamer PS3 fan boy or not buying a PS3 for that much. That is just crazy. There gose the Euro launch. Na na na...na. Na na na...na Hey hey hey Hurry up and BUy. Before you come down to earth and realize your being raped.

[kingboy]

lol! some of u need to travel around the world more often.you comparing the weak dollar now with the stronger British pounds & Euros?

[MicroGamer]

when the US and UK still used coins made out of mostly silver, there was over $4 to the pound. At that rate a PS3 would be over $1700 in the UK.

[zonetrooper5]

Thanks Sony for releasing later in Europe and whats thats we still get ripped off. The UK is so expensive that it sucks.

[EnforcerOfTheTruth]

It's always that way, same with the 360 or any other product. The thing is, we Europeans earn more than the americans. When I come to the states, it's all cheap as $hit for me.

[spacetoilet]

Dude, having grew up in Europe and emigrated to the states I can speak from experiance. I make WAY more money here than in Europe. You get more of your money here because the taxes are not draconian like yours in Europe. Having said that. The reason for alot of the price differential is purely the currency trading strenghths. The pound is sky high expensive right now which is great for travel but not so great for other things.

[TheMART]

Now we know you're a 14 year old or so

In the USA there is a lot less income taxes. The point of having cheap stuff is that the exchange rate of the Euro compared to the Dollar, the Euro is very strong already for some time. It started off weak when it launched, but it climbed up to be very strong.

But be sure, in the USA you'll have more money after taxes with about the same income before taxes then overhere in Europe...

When you come to the states, daddy is probably buying stuff for you that's why it's cheap. Go spend some of your pocket money and you'll be out of cash in no time dude

[MicroGamer]

is the minimum wage has to be high to cover the cost of the NHS. If you had people in $5-$6 (about 2.5-3 pounds)an hour jobs over there, they would use up more in NHS benefits than they pay in taxes every year and the country would go broke. So yeah, when the girl at the supermarket checkout counter is making $10-$11 an hour and the guy who sells you tickets at the movies is making $10-$11 an hour and the kid flipping burgers at McDonald's is making $10-$11 an hour, it tends to drive up the price of things.

[Marty8370]

When you look at what u get as standard is great value.

[T-Virus]

And I don't care what you say, £425 isn't cheap. Then we got 1 game at £49.99, and HDMI to buy aswell, thats over £500!

[Boink]

wow.

[shikwan]

And I'm sure some moron will bend over and love Sony's shaft as they buy the system.

[VORODOR 2]

THE PS3 COSTS £300 OR £430.THAT IS MUCH LESS THAN £600 WHICH YOU PEOPLE SEEM TO BE CONFUSED BY.WE PAY £ WE DO NOT PAY $ OR JUDGE SPENDING BY EXCHANGE RATE.£300 IS LIKE $300.TO AN INDIVIDUAL.WHAT YOU BUY FOR £500 YOU CAN BUY FOR $500,WE DO NOT SAY £800 FOR PS3 WE SAY £400.IT IS NOT 800.YOU ARE A MORON YOURSELF

[nice_cuppa]

whats that bend over ?

well ok i trust you but i dont know why i need to bend ove..

aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaAAAAAAA AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH !

[r1000]

Man Americans are so Ignorant.... Luckily my time in the military took me to about 14 countries so I know about exchange rates etc etc...

I feel bad for these kids who are consumed in video games, and have no idea of whats going on in the world...

600.00 US dollars is 1,336,500.0 Pesos Colombian money... there's more bait for you idiots to use....
http://finance.yahoo.com/cu...
here's a little tool to make you just a little smarter....

and

http://www.gamesindustry.bi...

[nambo]

If Sony is charging $600 to Americans, then why should they charge around $800 in the EU? Assuming it costs Sony the same amount to import to the US and UK, you would expect to pay the equivalent in each currency. That's an additional $200 Sony is making off of you blokes to subsidize the American and Japanese markets. I don't know why you people keep defending a corporation that keeps screwing you. I guess you just like it up the @$$.

[r1000]

assuming that importing is the same price... the keyword assuming... you or I do not know if it's the same for the US...

Different countries tax different items a certain amount of money...

Thats why the PS2 was tried to be sold as computer that way the tax would be less( which was unsuccessful)

[BlackCountryBob]

EU and UK always pay more for a few reasons

1: it takes longer and costs more to ship to EU from the manufacturing plants in China than it does to get to US or JP.
2:EU rules state that as standard with all electrical equipment there must be a minimum of a 1 year warranty unlike in USA where you only get 3 months.
3:UK price includes the 17.5% VAT charge.

Subtract them and the price is much closer.

And just as a comparison, the 360 premium is $399 in US but is £289($570) in UK. The Wii is $250 in the US but £179($353) in the UK.

[BIadestarX]

Ok, rambo you failed to mentioned one small detailed. the average salary in colombia is $328(dollards) a month or $82 a week. Try asking a family of 4 kids to stop eating or paying bills for 3 months before they can afford a PS3! ahhahaha. Stick to what you know GIJoe. Stop compering 3rd word currencies, since it's does not make much sence when it comes to game consoles. Also, what's the average income in europe? Is it more than US? Because pretty much Europeans are paying more as if they get pay more.

[r1000]

This has nothing to do with Colombia... PS3 isn't and is nowhere near releasing over there....
I'm just putting the conversion rate on the board so that you can see the huge number 600 US dollars looks like over there..

Colombian 1,346,189.9 = $600.00 US
You idiots (especially you) starting talking crap cuz you saw a huge number not knowing if it equates to the same over here....
And as a side note... you can call me Rambo.. Gi Joe... I'd gladly take that knowing that I served my country... for you young ass going nowhere in life kids can play your video games all day....
Goooooo JOE.....

[BIadestarX]

You must be french. I can smell the fries from all the way here. And I don't know what you mean by "or you young ass going nowhere in life kids can play your video games all day." I think everyone here would agree that you are the idiot one. Since you seem to believe that everyone that plays games is a kid. I am 29 years old, and married. I love video games like many others in this site. I work as a lead developers(Software developers) for a very big company. Made a little more than $120,000 a year (what's that in Colombia currency?), so I think you had a small miscalculation when it comes to reading me. Didn't they teach you how to read people in the military? And yeah, I also serve my country by pain lots of taxes so they can by bombs and blow $h!t up.

[r1000]

The french fries your smelling are the ones your making in McDonalds..

Lets not talk about reading people... I must be french... Yea I'm french from UNION COUNTY NEW JERSEY....

Hey watch this... I'm the lead technical advisor of money making firm...blah blah blah... I make 375,000 a week... blah blah... blah.... I'm getting promoted to CFO... blah blah.... whatever bro...

Paying your taxes (just like I do) is not serving your country... That is mandatory.... Go ahead stop and see what happens... Going into the Military is not mandatory...

TRY AGAIN.....

[TheMART]

YOU SAY WHAT???

in the UK you pay $838.

PS3 = dead in UK.

They can get a cheaper 360 plus football on it in Fifa 07 and PES6

This is the end of PS3 in UK

[VORODOR 2]

THE PS3 COSTS £300 OR £430.THAT IS MUCH LESS THAN £600 WHICH YOU PEOPLE SEEM TO BE CONFUSED BY.WE PAY £ WE DO NOT PAY $ OR JUDGE SPENDING BY EXCHANGE RATE.£300 IS LIKE $300.TO AN INDIVIDUAL.WHAT YOU BUY FOR £500 YOU CAN BUY FOR $500,WE DO NOT SAY £800 FOR PS3 WE SAY £400.IT IS NOT 800.YOU ARE A MORON YOURSELF

[TheMART]

Wait a sec.

First fix your caps lock, if you always need to shout like this, you are a little kid.

Second, did I call you or someone else here a moron? Sony fanboys that start name calling are really a sad type of humans, or may I say kids again.

Third:

"£300 IS LIKE $300"

If that's true, I would get the hell out of the UK. Second, that would mean also that if a person in the states earns 3.000 dollar a month, someone in the UK ears 3.000 pounds a month? Don't think so buddy.

I believe the UK is expensive and people probably earn higher wages to be able to pay all that expensive stuff, but I guess it's not that much higher.

But enjoy spending over 238 dollar calculted in pounds back extra mate. Overhere in the Netherlands it'll 'just' be 600 Euro max for the premium version. If that's 430 pounds that's still massively overpriced for what you get! I would just get a better experience for 399 Euro, what's that at your place, 275 pounds for the XBOX 360?

[zonetrooper5]

£425 is really not that cheap for the average consumer. Try to earn £425 and another £50 for a game as well when your 15 years old, its expensive for many people no matter what age you are, the point being is that why should we have to wait a whole year and then have to pay more while the Japanese get it earlier than us and also get a 20% price cut i think it was.

[MicroGamer]

my ex-girlfriend had a temporary job in an NHS hospital for a while. It was entry level and she was making over 7 pounds an hour to do filing and scheduling work. That's almost $14 an hour for ENTRY LEVEL!! We have no such jobs that pay that much to someone fresh off the street. I was making around $11.50 an hour then, and worked fewer hours than she did and still managed to bring home more than she did, and it really pissed her off sometimes. The NHS is killing everyone over there. They have to keep the minimum wage high so enough taxes keep coming in to pay for it, but when the minimum wage keeps going up, retail prices also go up because stores have to be able to pay their people somehow. It also means businesses can't afford to keep as many employees so unemployment rises and more people claim benefits, which means, yep more taxes. When shopping there, I found that most items start at double what they cost in the US and go up from there. The UK also has an army and navy that are far more powerful than a country of their size realistically needs, and that also costs a lot of money, so more tax on individuals and businesses which puts prices up again. It's a big circle that just never ends. Taxes go up, prices go up, wages rise, prices go up, unemployment increases, taxes go up. Wash rinse repeat.

[EasilyTheBest]

And the month it launches the 360 is going to drop from £209 and £279 to around £149 to £199 by the way the Wii cost £179 in the UK and I suspect that to drop to £149 around the same time too.
If Microsoft does drop by this amount the PS3 is dead in the water, theres just noway its going to sell..

[Bullseye]

The average wage in the uk is £400-£450 a week.Of course thats an average,in reality many people earn less than £200. The 360/20GB version is £279 and the core is £209 pounds sterling. A typical game for the the 360 is £45.00 We pay 75% or there abouts in tax on car fuel and about the same on a pack of cigarettes.Plus we are compelled by law to buy a television licence to be able to watch TV legally, whether we watch it or not!This costs £126.50 annually(BBC crap).We then pay for cable services on top.As you can see the U.K is without a doubt one of the most heavely taxed coutries.So, i would say that the 360 is roughly a weeks wages and the PS3 will be roughly a week and a half.For someone in my position its expensive, but not prohibitive.However for a lower income family its a fortune. The Wii would fit comfatibly for most families with kids, i think.

[r1000]

WOW bro I feel for you no matter what system you want to get... Paying to watch TV legally... that's crazy!@#$%.....

Sorry...

[BrotherSic]

The BBC offers a great service:

- No adverts! (thats worth the fee alone)
- Best News service in the world
- Best radio service in the UK (maybe world, i dont know ;)
- One of the most best and most visited websites on the net
- create/fund great programs such as Planet Earth and The Office

I am currently working in Ireland and I would love to watch the BBC but I have to settle for P2P tv instead

[Raist]

We have to pay 120 euros as a TV tax. This is because some TV channels are a public service, and not held by private companies. So part of their money comes from this tax.

[MicroGamer]

are a bunch of extortionists who send strong arm men around to shake you down for your license fee. My ex didn't even own a TV and the TVL people kept sending her threatening letters ordering her to pay up. If you don't own a TV, you don't have to pay. The law says anyone who owns television receiving equipment, they can't make you pay if they can't prove you have a TV on the premises and there is an exemption for people who use TV's to watch pre-recorded films or play video games. You can't have cable, satellite service, an external antenna or rabbit ears.

[General]

We dont use Dollars.

[Happy Hippo]

In Denmark the ps3 is set at a much higher price around 5300 kr. (danish money) which equal to 710 euros or 920 Us dollars.

The xbox 360 is 2600 kr/350 euros and 450 us dollars.

It's pretty expensive here, but it's one of the richest countries in the world, so we can afford it (at least the xbox 360)

the wii is btw 382 dollars/2200 kr

[BURLY]

A product that is identical in all territories will cost the same regardless of where you travel to purchase that item. Basically, everyone earns something called a "real income" and that income can be extrapolated (in simple terms) by taking the person's nominal income and adjusting it's relative value via the exchange rate. In other words, the exchange rate is the adjustment mechanism used to compare apples to apples. Of course the price mechanism will always clear the market regardless of how much nominal income a government might pump into the money supply, etc, etc. For example, if Mexico decided to print a crap load of money and everyone's nominal income increased as a result, then the prices will increase and the exchange rate will readjust to always reflect the Pesso's real purchasing power. The end result will be no change in the consumers real purchasing power, just massive inflation.

The same principle applies to any analysis of Sony's pricing. Take the cost of the console in U.S. dollars and apply the relavent exchange rate of each european country and that should give you what the cost should be - all things being equal.

That being said, it is much easier to decrease costs, then it is to increase them and the volitile nature of exchenge rates mean that Sony will want to give themselves a buffer zone. Furthermore, government taxes and regulations and the relative costs of shipping and retailing the product in the various markets will also have an effect, ...as will any language barriers that may or may not exist.

The bottom line though, is that the console is way too expensive no matter where you earn your real income and Microsoft will no doubt wipe the floor with Sony this generation because the Big M all but owns the price mechanism this generation. Of note is the fact that: 1) BluRay is relatively useless for games; 2) the 360 is more powerful than the PS3; and 3) the 360 will continue to have more and better games due to the profit potential of the existing install base and relatively ease of development.

To put things into perspective; I always laugh when Sony references the PS2's success when they are being drilled about the PS3's imperent failure. Well guess what? Microsoft decided to not include a hard drive as standard because it doesn't matter whether it is a 2GB or a 200GB drive - you cannot reduce the component cost of hard drives as much as you can the other components. Just look at how the PS2 is still selling like hot cakes, eventhough the number of games purchased for that system is vastly decreased. Why? ...because of PRICE! You see Sony really had no choice but to include a hard drive (for caching / streaming purposes) because of slow speed of the Blu-Ray drive. Now you will see the Core 360 meet that mass market price point WAAAAAAAAY before Sony even know's what hit them and the result will be that the 360 will gain a massive install base / profit potential for developers and more games will continue to fuel more sales until Sony's dominance is all but a distant memory.

Of course the final nail in Sony's coffin will be when you can buy a dual HD-DVD / Blu-Ray player - perhaps even for the 360!

LOL, Sony's abuse of their consumer base will be smashed by Microsoft acting as a better agent for the consumer and providing a product that was designed only with the consumers best interests in mind!

Criticize Microsoft all that you want but that was their strategy with dealing with Sony all along with the 360 and Sony arrogantly underestimated the competition and the intelligence of the consumer!

[Shadow Flare]

I dunno how the dollar being weaker and pound being stronger stuff works, but i realise many people in america were going completely ape over the $600 price tag so they must think $838 is, you know, crazy ape territory. But, i live in england and £425 borders on the "wow thats pricey for a console" but it doesn't hit the "£425!!! YOU'RE CRAZY!! I'M NOT PAYING £425!!!" point. I think in reletive terms with exchange rates, they are priced kinda the same. The ps3 is still cheaper than nearly most HDTV's and it is the latest bit of equipment. I think people will react like they did in america, nothing more nothing less. Oh yeah, we also get James Bond: Casino Royale bluray disc with our ps3's. Cool

[Monchichi025]

You know you're a fanboy when you say the PS3 isn't pricey compared to a freakin HD-TV!!!!

Point is, no matter how you try to spin it!!

You are paying more money for the same exact product you can find cheaper elsewhere. Sony is treating you like the red headed step child and you still continue to love them. Damn Lemmings!!

[Shadow Flare]

oh, i'm so foolish. You have made me see the errors of my way. Everything you said was right. I've wasted my life, following the playstation consoles, they are obviously all crap

Listen you freakish b1tch, im comparing the ps3 to high end electronics because guess what? The ps3 comes into the catagory of high end electronics. Because it is a brand new powerful electrical system- high end electronics. So guess what, its expensive. The ps3 is a games console though which is why it is cheaper then most high end electronics, like i said before. You know the console's moved on when it's stopped using dvd's, oh sorry i forgot you guys love up the dvd. And i would buy the ps3 because ive seen the up-coming games for it and how they look better than the 360 so im staying faithful to the ps3. Just because its crawling now doesn't mean it won't pick up later. Its just launched, and its doing better than the 360 was when that launched. PS. Its nice to see you 360 fannywags are still happy with dvd. And i will never know why

[The Snake]

"PS. Its nice to see you 360 fannywags are still happy with dvd. And i will never know why."

Most likely because, unlike most other components, the disc drives of the 2 systems are functionally identical. There is no difference between how they work. The only differences are how much data they can hold and the drive speed. This is not a major handicap. The workaround is simple. If you need more space than a DVD can hold, you simply use more. It's been done for years...including on the PS1, just in case you forgot that already.

PS you may not want to call people b1tches as personal attacks are strictly forbidden by the forum rules at the bottom of every page including this one.

[Funky Town_TX]

It will sale no matter what it cost.

[THAMMER1]

http://video.google.com/vid...

PS3 fan boys

http://video.google.com/vid...

[Close_Second]

...will not be getting one at launch. Too darned expensive!

In New Zealand the PS3 will be released for $1,199. Not exactly the family friendly $189 for the PS2 (which we have two of by the way). I'm sure initial NZ sales will be good but after a month they'll be sitting on store shelves. This is what happened when the PS2 launched in NZ.

Lets face it, although the PS2 was a hit it did not really reach huge numbers until it was repackaged and priced as the PS2 slim model.

[the_bebop]

Hopfully around here Sony will realise what a big mistake they are making and will lower the Price for Australia and New Zeland.

[dissectionalrr]

if it's not selling for $600 to rich americans what makes them think it's going to sell for $800+ to 3rd world europeans?

[VORODOR 2]

£400 IS A LOT CHEAPER THAN £800 WHICH IS NOT $800.$800 IS £400.£800 IS AROUND $1500.XBOX PEOPLE ARE CONFUSED OR JUST LYING KNOWING THIS FACT.

[kornbeaner]

for about 5,500 pesos. yeah 5,500 pesos. which translates to about $550 dollars american. People read the line again it says $838, that's dollars not pounds or euros. It's gonna launch for what sony said it was gonna launch for, a little over 500 pounds/euros. READ THE LINE PEOPLE!!!!!

[Harry]

Jesus wept.

£500 just to play Resistance?

I think not matey.

[GaMr-]

"if it's not selling for $600 to rich americans what makes them think it's going to sell for $800+ to 3rd world europeans?"

That is hands down the most ignorant,dumbest thing I ever read in my life...."especially since the euro is up on the mighty u.s dollar" "This mite come as a shocker folks but the united states is not the richest country on the planet.

[dissectionalrr]

joking buddy... ruffling feathers... you know... what gaming sites are for lol.

i was born in the u.k., lived there for 14 years. money is worth more, sure, but taxes are a mother as well. it will be a hard sell at US$825 anyway you look at it. europeans make more (equivalent) per year, true, but they pay ridiculous taxes that more than negate that advantage.

and also, "europe" isnt just the u.k. there ARE a lot of poorer countries in europe. it will be an even tougher sell than it has been here in the U.S., and you see how that's been working out for them...

[MicroGamer]

would be better to import the 240V version from Hong Kong or import one from America/Japan and buy a generic 240V power cable from Pissy(PC)World.

[CAPS LOCK]

i dont think the ps3 will sell well for that price, i mean the 360 is 280 pounds in the uk with a game. and the wii is 180 with wii sports, so unless they drop the ps3 to maybe 300 with a game then i highly doubt that the ps3 will be sold out anywhere, unless people know alot about blu ray(which they dont) and they put a ps3 next to a 1000 pound blu ray player then maybe there will be a couple more sales.

if i was sony i will sell the ps3 with 3 games and 2 controllers for 300-399 then alot of people would be getting it...or there is another option of importing a ps3 from hong kong, but then it wont play ur ps2 games and the online will be weired cause u dont know what updates to install...