Sony explains UK PS3 price

UK managing director tells The Guardian the reasoning behind giving Brits a higher price.

The PlayStation 3 will launch in Europe on March 23--some four months after Japan and the US. The console has been confirmed for the UK at a price point of £425 (approx. $838), with only the 60GB version available during the initial launch period. In the US the 60GB console retails at $599 (approx. £304) and in Japan for 59,980 yen (around £253).

In an interview in today's Guardian newspaper, Sony Computer Entertainment's UK managing director, Ray Maguire, explained that there were a "number of reasons" for the console's higher price.

The high rate of value-added tax (17.5 percent in the UK), exchange rate considerations, Sony having to pay UK staff higher wages, retailers taking a bigger chunk than elsewhere in Europe, and the generally higher cost of living were all cited by Maguire.

He said, "If it were $1.40 to the pound as it was a while ago, then the PS3 would be a bargain compared to the US; if it's anything more than that, the UK price appears to be comparatively expensive. But we're dealing with euros and yen--it's about the relationship between those currencies."

Maguire added, "Of course, I would dearly love to have the PlayStation 3 retail price under £400, and at such time as we can afford to do so, we will."

354 Comments

  • neonvzla

    Posted Feb 28, 2007 12:41 pm PT

    NEWSFLASH, Kane, Sony won't.

  • samad5

    Posted Feb 5, 2007 5:23 am PT

    Given that consoles are always more expensive in Europe, but thats just the point WHY THE HELL ARE THEY? Couple that with delays both on consoles and games and rest of the world is laughing at us. And by the way anyone who has played a retro game on the Wii console will tell you its the shoddy 50hz/Pal versions unlike the much better 60hz NTSC versions the US and Japan have. So Ninty are just as gulity when it comes to treating Europe as second class.

  • Kane04

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 7:57 pm PT

    NEWSFLASH Consoles are ALWAYS more expencive in Europe, whats the big deal?

    men PS2 was 450 Euros (585USD|315GBP +/-) when it hit my homeland.

    this guys are always trying to bash the PS3...

    IS GONNA WIN LIKE ALWAYS Sony Rulez!..

  • daniel665

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 6:56 pm PT

    Im beginig to hate sony. High price tag 1 good game and a couple of good tech demos(motor storm and gthd.) Bought a 360 after i saw the launch line up and whats coming out for both sytems in 2007 and thankfully my sense for a good deal have steered me clear of losing alot of money. Thanks gamespot and games master magazine for helping me make the right choice.

    Ill miss tekken anf ff and GT but my tears have been dryed and a big smile has been put on my face by playing dead or alive, oblivion, PGR3, kameo, gears, splinter cell d.a, perfect dark zero, viva pinata, small arms, robo blitz and will probably have an insane grin on my face when i play halo 3, crackdown, lost odyessy, blue dragon, mass effect, vf, unreal, fable2, banjo and kazzoie and masseffect among others. im sooooo HAPPY ROLL ON 2007.

  • T1TN

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 6:40 pm PT

    I'm a UK gamer and since they've been out I've always had a playstation or PS2, we get screwed over at every console launch, this time getting knocked back to march when it was supposed to come out WORLDWIDE in November, yes i'm still bitter about that, and now were totally getting screwed with the price tag, although i somehow knew even before it was announced it would be about £425 but to put that down to crappy excuses is ridiculous.

    Although i've got one on pre-order with R:FOM call me a fanboy if you want but know this, i do not and will not make excuses for Sony being total pricks throughout this whole console launch, (btw you Gears of war fanboys still having a go at R:FOM for crap graphics your comparing a second gen game for the 360 to a fist gen game for the PS3 so shut up.) back to my point i still want a PS3 because Sony has always put out a decent product even if they f##k up the launches. and another thing i dont get why fanboys have to fight all the time about whether a game or console is better than another to me it seem childish cant you guys just agree to disagree well thats my two cents/rant

  • markop2003

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 11:45 am PT

    I love being a PC gamer, Ican just sit back relax and scream "fight!" as the console companies battle for peoples money.

  • pandaramaster

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 11:06 am PT

    At that price, it now depends on my love for Sony. Over 400 pounds for a game console, with features I'll probably never use and the price of the games as well for it makes it a seriously money investment. I may have to give the PS3 a miss. Im happy with my consoles I have now so I'm not missing much really, especially with the dire games on offer for it.

  • Kilpers13

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 10:34 am PT

    I'm a UK gamer. I have a 360. I have a PS3 on pre-order from Play.com - it's been on order since the middle of last year. I've just got an eamil from Play telling me that I'm gonna have my PS3 on launch day. I don't want to put an unwanted console on ebay so some person has to fork out £800 for it *though we all know that c*ap's gonna happen anyway). So I came on here to search for help whether I should keep the pre-order.... and I found my help. One guy said it best: "Over Hyped, Over Priced, Over late."

    It does seem true that when the really good games come out we'll be smiling playing PS3.. but why pay silly prices (when no other country has had too) when the 360 does it all right now for HALF THE PRICE (nearly!).

    PS3 is a luxury item, it has blu-ray, it looks all shiny. But it doesn't stand upright very well and costs more than a months rent! Christ!

    Time to play the waiting game, in the next 6 months on 360 I'm expecting to play Crackdown (the demo is ace!), more Gears of War (still addicted) and I'm starting to buy some of the launch games I didn't own as they are cheaper and worth a go. I can wait for PS3 - it'll just have to wait for me.

  • Lonewolftom87

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 9:59 am PT

    Hahaha

    What a joke, Sony fail at life.

    Whoever pays £425 for a console with not 1 good game is a frikkin moron.

    Go buy a 360 nubz!

  • reeconstead

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 7:50 am PT

    'you should start pulling your own weight'

    In terms of what? Saving Americas political ideology? Or paying for Sonys mistakes???
    Hahaha, I call that pulling your weight.
    I urge people to go to the US on holiday and buy a PS3 lol! I have no idea what you are on about though? America is one the least aware cultures in the world, it shocks me people even listen to their Political opinions!
    I mean jesus, the US is having a public tiff with France....over what? Handbags I am sure!!!!!!

    The fact is that yes we are getting screwed but Sony is mostly gambling with its reputation for the price outlay, if you think that a good meal for a family of five would cost you about £70 with drinks, or that seeing a football match costs £30 for 90mins is the PS3 really such a rip off in our economic culture? Especially as it will be a fan boy purchase at first, watch the competition become competitive and consumers benefit (as much as we can with the inflated price)

    I am praying for people power and the failure of the PS3, so that finally Sony can be reminded that we are the catalyst for their success, not their marketing campaigns.

  • samad5

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 6:20 am PT

    I'm not too sure that Sony will be manufacturing any PS3's in the UK, as that would surely send costs through the roof. I'm afraid that the UK by sticking to the pound and not changing to the euro (as it'll be cheaper in mainland europe) is now facing the brunt of high consumer products.

  • Uwthree

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 4:59 am PT

    Actually, I'm relieved it's that price. I heard it was gna be 700 quid over here my keyboards messed up, I couldnt put a pound sign srry

  • STARS_Splinter

    Posted Feb 4, 2007 12:41 am PT

    only good point about the high price tag IMO (which currently stands at almost double the 360 core bundle!) is that you get the blu-ray player, when at the minute standalone blu-ray players are around £900. So in that respect, its decent value. But not in comparison to the 360 and Wii. And whilst the price of production for sony might be higher over here (boo-hoo for them), the cost of living for the average person is higher here, too. So really, the PS3 price tag is... high, but not unexpected.

  • samad5

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 3:49 pm PT

    GTCzeero & Luckybet3 if you want to believe what I've just said about the cost of 360 and Wii games then do this. Look at the cost of the games on a major retailer like Woolworths/ Curry.Digital, then look at the currency value between the pound and dollar and you'll come to the same conclusion. By the way I am talking about the general retailer and not one off bargains people would have got for 360 and Wii games at Christmas.

  • Luckybet3

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 2:37 pm PT

    What a load of cr*p!

  • GTCzeero

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 12:18 pm PT

    I want to believe this, but I still think the PS3 has a massive price tag over here so that Sony can try and recover their losses in some small way.

  • samad5

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 12:06 pm PT

    Ok fair point below but just like to point out that the likes of VF5 will take a while to hit the 360 and probably cost as much. Many 360 games in the UK are still £50 ($95) so its not just Sony trying ti rip off customers. As for the Wii, sorry mate but absolutely nothing aspires to me on this machine as being an adult gamer I would prefer more mature content.

  • nu-animal

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 11:37 am PT

    Lol.... to all the people who refer to the PS3 as the "best" and/or "most powerful" ever...

    I remember when I bought my N64. There was some blurb on the box that said "More powerful than the computer that powered the (space rocket) that took man to the moon" or something... I'm sure in the near future this will all repeat itself :p

    As for the rest of it, well, most of the PS3 UK launch (period) titles are multiplatform (and of those that are, are cheaper on the 360). I think I shall be sticking with my Wii and 360 until MGS4 or DMC4 comes out... and even then... im not sure if I'd get a PS3...

  • samad5

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 10:56 am PT

    I would agree that the 360 beats the PS3 at the moment on price and games, but thats just simply to do with the late release of the PS3 in comparison. Sure its losing a few exclusives but also gaining a few on the other hand. The big asset or problem (which ever way you look at it) is the built in blue ray technology. Sure its bumped up the cost but for people who would rather have this in their PS3 than buy a machine separately for blue ray they're saving a huge packet. The currency talk I also think was actually a lot of boloney. The pound is so strong against the yen and dollar that theoretically that should make imports like the PS3 relatively cheaper than our Atlantic counterparts. Cost of living, wages & vat is perhaps higher but not to the extent that the UK has to pay close to £100 more for the machine. By the way this also appplies to the 360 and Wii games here which cost approx £45 ($85) and £35-40 ($66-$76) here. So no its not all Sony trying to rip us of in the UK.

  • tobleronian

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 7:26 am PT

    Sony are gunna need some luck... the 360 beats it on price, games and online at the moment. And if Blu-ray goes down the pan... well, the only thing i'll be looking forward to is the next Ico/SOTC team project and thats not enough for me to make that kindof investment. We shall see...

  • tobleronian

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 7:22 am PT

    "Sony having to pay UK staff higher wages, retailers taking a bigger chunk than elsewhere in Europe, and the generally higher cost of living were all cited by Maguire."

    bollocks. Give some credible reasons. the high VAT added at retail amounts for a portion of the added cost... but those other reasons suck ass. wtf has a 'generally higher cost of livng' got to do with it, they just FEEL they should charge more, because some ppl may have more money. As for the retailers.. they can charge what they want anyway, it doesn't mean the RRP has to be extortinate to meet their greed.

    And how the fuk is refering to exchange rates that are decades old going to justify it!... the pound/dollar exchange has been between $1.7-1.9 to £1 for fekin years. "Oh if it were 50 cents to the pound it would be considered a bargin, muh huh huh" - Shut up I understand that .. considering all that is packed into the box.. it may be a good deal at that price, but its still a console... and its still alot more expensive than ANYwhere else WE ALWAYS GET SCREWED ON PRICE! ALLWAYS!! fukin bastards >

  • Dave_margera

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 7:18 am PT

    sony can kiss my arse

  • jaymib

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 5:29 am PT

    sony dose it again!!! makes up aload of rubbish to make europe and UK pay more then the rest of the world. and then there don't even release the 20GB version, because there no everyone will buy it!!! sony just hates us and here i was thinking the Uk was like the 3rd biggest gameing country. well sony , i've been a big fan of yours, got the PS1 and PS2. but know you gone to far, time to get me an 360 for half the price of your PS3.

  • nev70

    Posted Feb 3, 2007 2:05 am PT

    david2475 £425 isn't that bad for the best console ever especially with games like metal gear solid 4,devil may cry 4 and tekken 6.
    ..........................................................................................................................................Really david and when will they be out 08 ? .The current collection of ps3 games CANNOT JUSTIFY ITS HIGH COST , especially when multi format titles look BETTER on the 360 and its 50% cheaper ? 07 is NOT the year to buy a ps3 your better off waiting for a price drop and to see just how good these upcoming titles are i havent read any REVIEWS yet have you ?

  • Vorador47

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:07 pm PT

    well knew that it was going to be atleast £400, but ouch seeing it finally put up as official, its still a bit much.

    im glad i bought my 360 last month.

    i was a big playstation fan, and would have wanted a PS3. and wanted to stay well away from Microsoft. (being a PC gamer) but they was just no getting away from teh fact, that the 360 is a good machine, and the ps3 was Over Hyped, Over Priced and Overly Late.

    plus it lost all the exclusive i wanted. and the xbox has XBL. seemed like a no brainer to buy a 360, taking in everying.

    and now they want you to pay £425, just not going to happen.

    ofc there are going to be those that will buy them anyway.
    and there will be those that buy into the hype and buy one cause its ment to be the most powerful best console ever. (hell we see alot of them on here saying the PS3 is the best console ever, even though they dont even have one yet)

    as much as i hate to admit it, the pendulum has swung in microsofts favour. and sony have turned into a buch of arrgogant idiots.

  • matrixman2k

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 3:20 pm PT

    don't know about that - sounds to me like a case of "let the desperate and rich pay the premium and then lower the price for the average joe"

    Otherwise how can they explain the too sudden/soon price cut in Japan.

    Sounds dodgy...

  • UrbanMessiah

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 3:04 pm PT

    daweguy said:
    "I don't care that i'll have to pay more. It's still worth it. For instance, if you need a car, you'll get it, whatever the cost is. So even if the price is $800, i'd find wallet in my pocket"

    Yes, if you needed a car you would buy one...But there's a difference between needing an affordable car that does what you need it to do and wanting an over priced luxury ride that doesn't do very much more.

    But hey...its your disposable income. I hope for Sony's sake there are more consumers that don't care how much they blow on a console like you...but looking at most of the comments here, it doesn't seem like a lot of your fellow UKers feel the same as you. -=x

  • samad5

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 1:56 pm PT

    And yeh before I forget let me tell you how the Wii and PS3 are being perceived in the UK. The Wii is seen as either a kiddies console of a console for women and old people, which is why its doing ok as it targets a different audience. The PS3 onthe other hand (much like the 360) is viewed as a proper core gamers console and therefore target audience will be teens and adults (with greater expenditure/purchasing power). A lot of my work mates have the 360 and most are also gonna buy the PS3 cos they can 'afford' to. Future price drops will enable those that cannot to eventually buy one and no prozes for guessing who'll then come up on top. So yeh whilst the Wii is selling out the PS3 will be the long-term winner without doubt.

  • tdfury

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 1:54 pm PT

    Don't get me wrong I think the ps3 will be at least ok in the future but now at that price point i dont think so.

    me personally i getting a 360 this month, and then god of war 2 in march and thats where my affair with sony will end at least for about 4 years.

    the funny thing is that before i wouldn't have even looked at microsoft. and now sony made me take a look and i like what i am seeing. so its all change for me i'm affraid the order go's for me that is 360 wii and later ps3.

    P.S I love my ps2 and can't wait for the return of kratos.

  • samad5

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 1:25 pm PT

    Yuck_Foo, I'd much rather have these delayed games for the PS3 than twiddle my thumbs waiting for some good games to come along for the Wii.

  • Pixelgen

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 1:06 pm PT

    They Sell it hign to the a millon or two who are die hard PlayStaion fans, why lower the price when they no there going to sell at 425. Once there've milk us Brits there lower it little by little...

    "f*****g a*s h**e"

  • alz619

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 12:42 pm PT

    This is F**kin outragous and im not paying that much fora piece of japanease junk when xbox is out for £200 and does just the same if not more.

  • Yuck_Too

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 12:04 pm PT

    --david2475 --

    Ummm...and those titles are where?...oh right...in development and getting delayed.

    Might as well wait for them to ship and by that time maybe a price drop or two.

  • bumhats

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 10:45 am PT

    none will sell...

  • david2475

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 10:27 am PT

    ps1 was the best console ever,then ps2 and now ps3 is going to be even if it's £425

  • MBLMember

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 10:21 am PT

    Sonys BS grows with each returned or traded PS3. The Ps3 is manufactured in Japan for the North American continent, where is it manufactured for Europe??? If its manufactured in Japan also, THEN WHAT THE H'LL DOES A COUNTRIES STANDARD OF LIVING HAVE TO DO WITH THAT KIND OF B'S' SONY IS THROWING AT EUROPE, OTHER THAN THE FACT THAT THEIR SCREWING THE EUOROPEANS ON THE LOSS OF PROFITS FROM OTHER AREAS. In note to my first sentence, I was over in the States for the day (I live in Canada) and stopped by a "Gamestop" store to pick up a game and low and behold a guy was in there trading in his PS3. I asked him jokingly if he enjoyed the one good game for the system. He said that he was trading it in for a 360, he got $400(U.S.) for the trade-in.

  • Rect_Pola

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 10:07 am PT

    Maguire added, "Of course, I would dearly love to have the PlayStation 3 retail price under £400, and at such time as we can afford to do so, we will."

    Get real! You'd dearly love consumers be unable to complain or wait so you could keep the price as high as you want. You have it high to bilk as many early adopters you can before the masses resist. Then, and only then, will you "afford" to do so.

    Does Sony just look for ways to piss people off these days?

  • shag2sheeps

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:50 am PT

    The price is ridiculous! I live in Ireland and want to know what the Euro price will be cos there is no way Im paying €700 just to make up Sony's losses from the American and Japanese prices! MrSickVisionz the minimum wage in Ireland is €8.35 which is around $10 maybe a bit more but still the price is absolutely ludicrous! And for daweguy people NEED cars to get around they do not NEED an overpriced, and overrated, games console!

    Also just to stick it to Sony Blu-Ray will FAIL!!! just think about Betamax and UMD And when BD fails so will the PS3! Behold the fall of a giant!

  • JMizzle

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:35 am PT

    Sony are just money hungery. They make billions from their PCs, Cameras, Camcorders, DVDs, Movies and TVs.
    They just think that people are stupid enough to pay £425 for a PS3.

    Which unfortuanatly, is probably true.

  • Bandit_Haze

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:31 am PT

    £425 = KMA.. I don't see the value in a PS3 right now, but if i did ever decide to buy one, no way am buying from the UK, not when I can import it from japan for £250

  • david2475

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:19 am PT

    £425 isn't that bad for the best console ever especially with games like metal gear solid 4,devil may cry 4 and tekken 6.

  • MrSickVisionz

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 9:13 am PT

    Ouch... $838 is a bit much. Minimum wage in Europe must be equivalent to like $10+ an hour if $838 in the UK seems to be the move to make.

  • daweguy

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 8:59 am PT

    I don't care that i'll have to pay more. It's still worth it. For instance, if you need a car, you'll get it, whatever the cost is. So even if the price is $800, i'd find wallet in my pocket

  • PelekotansDream

    Posted Feb 2, 2007 8:54 am PT

    WR_Platinum, they didnt **** us over, we aint fools and there are other consoles which we can spend our money on.

  • WR_Platinum

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:14 pm PT

    LOL @ UK... They F'd u over, BIG TIME. Thats messed up.

  • hovan316

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 8:04 pm PT

    You fools...just living in The U.K. costs more...of course the PS3 and anything else will cost more than North America and Japan!
    The guy is just stating facts...I don't even know why Gamespot wrote this article...??? Ok, maybe for the gamers in The U.K.
    Living in North america, I don't think anybody should care about what this article is talking about because it doesn't affect the PS3 here...!!!

  • ranger_waha

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:49 pm PT

    Open mouth, insert foot, release all hopes of selling well. Repeat.

  • robfield

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:38 pm PT

    Sony still refuses to stop killing itself

  • thekey

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:08 pm PT

    I don't care if it is 17.5 percent exchange rate its not a bargain compared to the US price. They're just lying through there teeth. The UK is still getting shafted, And there is no justification for it either.(No great games, a bunch of worthless Blu-ray movies etc.)

  • everythingj

    Posted Feb 1, 2007 7:08 pm PT

    This is what i love about sony fanboys:

    storm1110: "congrats xbox gamers/fans/fanboys, you have a retard liek that in your midst..."

    Honestly.. who types in this small box, and doesn't notice that they mispelled the word 'like' somewhere? Sony idiots, that's who.

    Anyway, I feel sorry for the brits who have to get gouged sony. The ps3 is basically the titanic at this point.. slowly sinking its way into the bottom of the cold, dark ocean. Somebodies got to pay the price for that.

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