SamuelRSmith on 05 March 2007
sharky said:
PS3 isn't going to do well in Europe, it costs even more over there, like $700 or $800. And people in Europe make less money than people in America, so not only is the price higher but they can afford it less. It's going to be tough for Sony...
I get really annoyed with people assuming things like this.
According to Google, the federal minimum wage for the US is $5.15
Here (The UK) the minimum wage is £5.35
In dollars £5.35 is $10.29, that's almost twice as much as the US Federal minimum wage.
Also, the PS3 is $600 before VAT, whereas here it is £425 after VAT.
So, in the US the PS3 costs £311 before VAT
Right, I'm gonna take a random states VAT levels and add them to the price of the PS3. Lets take Florida (I'm going there next year... so it's in my mind). Wikipedia tells me that Floridas VAT is 6%
6% of £311 is... £18.66. £311 + £18.66 = £328.66
£425 - £328.66 = £96.12
So, in Florida you can buy the PS3 £96.12 cheaper than you can in the UK. However, our minimum wage is just under twice that of the US's.
In the UK the PS3 may cost more, but it's all in correlation to what we earn here. Hey, some could say that we are getting a better deal