Here in Australia (All prices include goods and services tax)

PS3 - $499 (450 US dollars)
360 Elite $449 (405 US dollars)
Wii- 299 (270 US dollars)

I got my 5870 for arround 550 USD here in Colombia.

You should have added that the Wii was officially $100 more expensive until a week or so ago.

Adding to the above Australian prices: Wii games vary alot but new releases tend to be about 70-80 USD, PS3/360 about 90 USD.

I recently bought a XFX5850 and that ran me about 350 USD.

If the sales tax used is Gross Receipts Tax, tax builds on every level of the sale (manufacturer -> wholesalers -> retailers -> consumers), at 10% (just taking your 10% value). So you end up with the product having ~33.5% tax rate is effect.
VAT only taxes the added value, so the total amount of tax paid = 10% of the final purchase price (well, actually slightly less than 10%, because the final price = non-tax price + 10% tax). 

I think it's safe to assume that most major retailers would buy directly from the manufacturer to save on the wholesaler markup.  And I thought that retailers get to write off silly things like taxes.  I could be wrong on that though.

I was always under the impression that VAT was the sole reason prices in Europe were higher than North America (aside from potential import taxes, but I don't think these apply to electronics in most cases in Europe).

Can I ask the South Americans what's to stop 'your favourite aunty in the UK/US' from sending you a cheaper console? Are packages from friends and relatives checked? Surely games must be easy to get through customs.

At $500 a Wii, I'd be tempted to fill my suitcase with a few and take a trip over there.

well, i bought my wii in the us, so i paid half the price i would pay here.

bout your idea, it's not uncommon, at least in my country. People usually buy a vast number of consoles, and sell them for twice the price, after unlocking it of course

Why not have the consoles sent/imported? I can imagine customs taking a close look at a parcel with AMAZON stamped on it but a friendly Ebay seller could make it look like a simple pair of shoes from grandma. Is postage expensive in your country?

Belgium

PS3 € 299 ( games +- €50 to €70)
XBOX 360 € 249.99 (games +- €50 to €70)
Wii € 199 (games +- €50)
DSI € 169 DS € 129 (games +- € 30 to € 50)
PSP GO € 199 PSP SLIM € 174 (games +-€30 to €50)

That includes tax.

It may be expensive depending on the price of the product you're trying to import. After a certain amount of money you have to pay a tax based on the 10% of your product's value.