http://kotaku.com/gaming/long_winded/sce-australia-boss-gets-dizzy-spinning-lack-of-aussie-price-cut-282069.php

I like Michael Ephraim. The SCE Australia boss seems like a super-nice guy. But man can his mouth get him into trouble. The Age's Jason Hill managed to corner him and ask why, oh why in the name of baby Jesus is AustraliaPS3 bundle when the US 60GB model just got its price slashed. His long-winded responses contain few answers and much wind. getting stuck with an AUD$1000

Well, let's work through that. The US is $499, right? And we're giving $280 worth of value which brings the unit down to around $700. Then take the exchange rate of 20 per cent, their $500 is now looking more like $625. And our offer, when you look at the value in it, is $700. Do you see my point?

For starters, we're not being given the option of removing the $280, because this is a forced bundle. Secondly, the exchange rate at the moment is ten percent (AUD$1 is getting around USD$.89), so an American PS3 is not AUD$625, it's AUD$565. Worse, that exchange rate has the 80GB American bundle at only AUD$680. You can always explain a little mark-up on hardware for things like taxes, shipping, etc, and yes, the Aussie bundle comes with some extra stuff to make up for the smaller HDD space. But an AUD$320 difference? Smelling the bullshit Hill presses him further about the lack of a compelling "entry" pricepoint:

I appreciate your point about an entry level price point, but purchases at retail when consumers have been buying PS3, they haven't stopped at $999. They're buying a game, a controller, a Blu-ray movie. They're walking out spending $1300-1400 on average is what we're hearing from retail.

Michael, just a word of advice: you might want to think about the people who aren't spending AUD$1400 at the register. They're the ones who don't have a PS3. Might want to look into sorting them out, because AUD$1000 is just taking the piss. And by the looks of your "responses" to Hill's questions, you know it is.

the cost is absolutely rediculous, no amount of spin is going to change that. i still cant get over how much us aussies have to pay for games, New Xbox360 and PS3 games launch at up to 120$, which is 106$ US, absolutely rediculous!!

Yes, I hate Sony and all their PR and whatnot.

There, happy?

Again SCE are idiots, If I would be them I would sell it for $899.99, 1000buks is way to much.

I agree, i've got a lot of friends and workmates that express a lot of interest towards the PS3 (purely based off the PS2 reputation -- we became a Sony country during that era), yet when I ask them what they think about the $1000 pricetag, the most common response I get is "I'll probably get it in a few years when it is a few hundred dollars cheaper"

Another thread about some guy from Sony saying something that someone who hates Sony didn't like. How original...

Read the whole interview, it's an abomination!

How much are the other 2 systems there?

Also...

Console	Weekly	Total
	3,620	621,760
	1,866	115,878
	1,520	61,050
	1,506	303,249
	1,479	192,626

It doesn't seem to be hurting them much. 

Wii launched at $400 ($356 US), Xbox360 i cant really remember but i think $650 ($578 US), so we did get kinda screwed..