Not bad for a Blu-ray player, claims Sony
vnunet.com, 19 May 2006
Sony's PlayStation 3 will cost gamers £425 at its launch on 17 November, roughly £18 more than it will cost elsewhere in Europe.
The version of the console that comes with a 60GB hard drive will cost €599 in Europe, which works out as £407 under the current conversion rate.
However, with no UK price mentioned for the 20GB version of the console, which will cost €499 (£339) in Europe, it is feared that Sony will not offer the lower-spec machine in the UK.
Ray Maguire, Sony's UK managing director, defended the price as "a bargain" when Blu-ray DVD players could retail for £600-£700.
The PlayStation 3 will face tough competition from Microsoft's Xbox 360 in the Christmas buying period.
Microsoft will package its next-generation console with a bundled HD-DVD drive for less than the price of the PlayStation 3.
Maguire admitted that Sony has a big challenge ahead. "The point is that most people don't realise what they're actually getting with a PlayStation 3," he told Eurogamer.tv.
"It's a games machine and we all know that, but it's also a high-definition video playback device through Blu-ray, and a lot of people don't really understand that part of the functionality."
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