The PlayStation 3 will launch in Europe on March 23 for £425, says games mag Edge

In a post on its website, Edge says that it has been advised by a source wishing to remain nameless that the PlayStation 3 will "definitely launch in the UK on March 23 at £425".

 

For the 60gb version?

Steve

 

sorry mate, they didn't confirm. I bloody hope so at that price, as it seems a lot of money!
source: Edge Online

Tretton: "PS3 will be difficult to cost reduce"

An interview with Sony Computer Entertainment America chief Jack Tretton in the latest issue of Game Informer revealed some troubling news for consumers waiting for a lower-priced PlayStation 3. When asked point blank whether price drops for the PS3 will be "as soon or as drastic as they were for the PlayStation 2," Tretton responded with a curt, "No."

For reference, the PS2 was reduced from $299 to $199 in the United States on May 14, 2002, 565 days after the Oct. 20, 2000 release date. Using this data and Tretton's above answer, we can expect that the PS3 won't come down in price until at least June 4, 2008.

The reason for the shallower pricing curve? According to Tretton, the increased investment in R & D and hardware makes the system "a lot more difficult to cost reduce" than the PS2. "There's a heck of a lot more under the hood and it costs us more money to make it," Tretton told Game Informer. Despite this, Tretton doesn't seem to think the system's price will hurt its position in the marketplace. "I think the consumers that get their hands on a PlayStation 3 clearly see the value and not only want to buy one for $599, in some instances they're willing to pay ridiculous prices to buy one on eBay," Tretton said.

Source: Joystiq

 

Yep, it's the 60gb. Rumour is that the 20gb won't be available at launch in the UK.

Still too expensive, and no decent games available yet though. Think I'll wait...

 

JAPANESE RETAILERS CUT PS3 PRICE

"Reports from Japan suggest that retailers have knocked the PS3 price down by as much as 20 percent in an attempt to drum up some business. A few good games would help, we reckon.

With demand for Wii at an all time high it must be hard for Sony to watch sales of PS3 almost dry up before their very eyes. It's also been reported that PS3 suffered its worst week of sales earlier this month in Japan as well. Things could be better.

But don't expect an official price cut from Sony any time soon. SCEA boss Jack Tretton has said that it would be hard to cut the price because the system is sooo expensive to make. Speaking to Game Informer, Tretton replied, "No... There's a heck of a lot more under the hood and it costs us more money to make it."

Source: Gaming News, Reviews, Previews, Cheats & Tips - ComputerAndVideoGames.com

 

Looks like i won't be able to pick mine up on that date then as i wil be in Jerez watching moto gp

 

from my mate in the US:
"According to today's exchange rate, try $845! You should come here, PS3s are everywhere, most shops I have been in have them now. They have had them for the last 2 weeks... this is not a good sign for Sony!"

 

There are a couple of caveats to that

(i)The UK price includes VAT at 17.5% - meaning the actual cost is around £365 with 60 odd quid going to the government. The US price does not include sales tax which varies from state to state - from 5-8 % ish.

(ii)You ar enever, ever, as a business going to base your global pricing on todays exchange rate, it is always an historical average.


Nothwithstanding the above, so long as you get it through customs, you could pick one up cheape rin the US

 

Hello

I was in the US last week and there were PS3's everywhere: Even Toys'R'Us has a whole bunch. Wii's were sold out.

The list price is $599 + Tax (at 8% where I was), so $646. The exchange rate I was getting on my credit card was good, so about £340.

Edit: Not that I bought one, but it did cross my mind hence working it all out when I was there!

Steve

 

I can't help think £425 is taking the pi$$ and that Sony are getting complacent.

 

I think I will also be waiting for it to drop - robbing gits

 

Agreed I've bought both PS1 and PS2 on launch day but I'm not sure about this one

 

Yep I loved the PS1 and PS2 but its just the same old same old with better graphics for PS3 and thats not motivation enough. They must be struggling if they cant shift them in Japan.

 

PMSL.. it costs so much to produce...

no mention about the vast profits made from PS1 & 2..

unfortunatly loyalty goes out the window, when you start to ignore the user

base, who supported you first two times round!!

Anyone remember, the PS2 campaign,, where all registered PS1 users would be contacted re being one of the first owners of the PS2... did they f*ck...

mind you i was lucky and got one just after the hyped launch batch!!


not to sure this time around!!

will we still get green DVD playback



Mart

 

IMHO That is too much!!

Sony have another problem too.

When they launch the PS2, expect another price cut for the xbox 360. I wouldn't be at all surprised if you can pick up a premium for £229 and a core for £179. The Xbox has a far greater selection of games and I very much doubt whether any superior aspects of the PS3s specification will translate into any significant improvements in gameplay.

Could be a bit of a no brainer come the release date!

Ns04

 

But the PS3 will have the blueray, so people dying to get their hands on a player will have one in terms of PS3. Whether its as crap as the DVD player on the PS2 in terms of being compared to a proper blueray player is another matter.

I remember getting my PS2 on launch day/ midnight and by the time i got another controller, memorycard etc, it came to about £350. So £420 ain't too bad in terms of Sony pricing although it will probably be over £500 by the time you've got a couple of bits!

 

I don't think that will be too much of a problem because the majority of people that want a 360 will already have one. If Xbox halved the price of the games, that would be a different story but we all know thats not going to happen because its the publishers that more or less set the price of games!

 

too true , but the PS3 has another problem in the UK. Online retailers are still putting a price tag of £49.99 on the PS3 games where 360 games are £39.99

I have to admit I have become more and more of an Xbox fanboy over the last year and it's Sony pushing me in that direction with crazy prices and the fact they treat Europe like a Leper colony.

Long live the big white noise box

 

I seriously doubt that. I expect they will keep selling for some time to come...

 

My bro bought himself a 360 at xmas and I have to say that having had a play on it I was very impressed

A couple of reasons I'm waiting before commiting to either console is I want to gauge peoples reactions to the PS3 at launch and also the possibility of a 360v2 on the horizon

 

Is that true? I always assumed console games were so expensive because M$ took a cut of each sale. The publishers charge at least a 10'er more for a console version over a PC one and, in the days of PS/2 and XBox 1, the PC version was often better.

 

All console manufacturers take a cut from each sale, it's how they make money, it certainly isn't the hardware, which is sold at a loss (unless you are nintendo, who invariably sell hardware at cost).

Typically, the cut for the manufacturer is £4 per game. The developer get a percentage, and obviously there are publishing and packaging costs. The vat man takes 17.5% and obviously the publisher is taxed on the sale. The retailer takes a cut for selling and stocking the game, and whats left goes to the publisher.

The cost difference, for, say Football Manager 2007 (£29.99 RRP for PC, £44.99 RRP for Xbox 360) is not solely down to MS (in this case), they still only take a £4 cut - it is the publisher setting the price.

 

Of course they will, we haven't seen the peak of 360 sales yet - Typically it comes some 18 months to 2 years after the release.

 

one thing the ps3 does have which 360 doesn't thats gran turismo how many people will buy a ps3 just for that reason

 

But they'll have to way at least another year before they get GT5, (and maybe longer). GT HD is downloadable, but its just a cut down GT4 with HD graphics.

The GT name will sell Sony consoles, but I've never understood why. There are far better driving games out there...

 

Not many judging by the fiasco that was "Gran Turismo HD".. LOL

 

I think people underestimate Forza. They'll probabably be on Forza 3 by the time GT5 is out on the PS3.

 

is there any screenshots for forza 3 yet or details on release date

 

There was a "techonology" video released a while ago. Didn't show any actual game footage, but it did show the graphics engine in action and what it will be capable of...

IGN: Forza Motorsport 2 Trailer, Videos and Movies

and some more here...

Forza Motorsport 2 - Media Gallery

 

It's forza 2 out next I was just trying to highlight how long people will have to wait for Sony to sort out the next GT.