I posted another thread asking how much the ps3 costs in europe, and the majority replied 400. That would mean a ps3 costs 623.12 us dollars. Weren't the recent reports that a cost of a ps3 is slightly over 400. wouldn't that mean that the ps3 makes money for sony in europe

Part of that money is taxes, import fees and EU recycling fees. Eliminating VAT alone turns $623.12 into about $520. It's likely that Sony gets a little less than $500 from each PS3 sold in Europe.

Furthermore, I doubt the console's production is paid for in dollars (but I'm guessing on this point).

In any case, one thing's for sure - overall, they're losing money on hardware. Sony's CFO says so very clearly in all of their latest financial conferences.

And it costs £300 in the UK, which is closer to $600, so they must make some money from that

That's cheaper than in mainland Europe. £300 = $592, eliminate 17.5% VAT and you get $503.

- double post.

what is that?

^Sales tax found in the EU

Value added tax

VAT = Value Added Tax.

By law, in Europe, all prices you see at stores have VAT included. The price on the tag is the price you pay, unlike USA where taxes are calculated when you pay.

This is one of the reasons why some Europeans bitch so much about getting ripped off, they're comparing apples to oranges. Well, they're still right in that most things are more expensive nowadays, but the rip off is nowhere near as big as a direct currency conversion makes it seem.

that is a huge tax 17.5%, here in united states it is 7.25% for the highest tax state, california.