Electronics giant Sony has been strongly criticised by consumer groups in Britain after it announced it will charge 50 per cent more for its new PlayStation 2 games console than in the US.
The state-of-the-art console, sure to be high on many children's Christmas lists, will retail for £393.63 (£299 sterling) when it is launched in Britain on November 24th. The Irish launch date is the same and the recommended retail price here is £379.99.
PlayStation 2 costs the equivalent of only £316 in Japan and will cost $299 (£261) in the United States when it hits the shops there on October 26th. The US price is £119 less than in Ireland and £132 less than in Britain.
A spokeswoman for Sony Ireland said yesterday the price for PlayStation 2 was only £80 more than that charged for the first PlayStation introduced in 1995 and was broadly in line with the rest of Europe.
The price differential between Europe and the US was due to different retail margins and freight and transport costs, she added.
In Britain, Sony blamed the price gap on higher VAT rates, fluctuating exchange rates and transport costs.
But consumer groups said the company had raised the UK price because it knew British consumers were willing to pay more.
A British Consumers' Association spokesman said: "I accept that our VAT rate is higher at 17.5 per cent but that does not explain the £100 (sterling) difference." Demand for the PlayStation 2 is so high in Britain that consoles will only be available to customers who order them from shops in advance.
