All PS3s To Be Under $500 In Australia From August 24

15 years ago

August 19, 2009 at 9:00 am

Did you hear Sony unveiled the PS3 Slim? We’ve confirmed the new price and launch date for Australia.

The PS3 Slim will launch on September 3 in Australia and retail for $499.95, a price drop of $200.

Also, all remaining stock of the current 80GB “phat” PS3 will also be reduced to the new price point of $499.95 from Monday, August 24.

So, if you really want a “phat”, don’t buy it this week!

UPDATE: Responding to the question of our price vs the US price raised in many of your comments, a Sony spokesperson said: “SCE Australia falls into the PAL markets and therefore our pricing is more closely aligned with European markets. As you pointed out [referring to my comment below] , our new price point is extremely competitive, particularly for the full entertainment offer that PS3 provides, soon to be complimented with the expanding features, content and services in the pipe line as announced at gamescom.”

Comments

76 responses to “All PS3s To Be Under $500 In Australia From August 24”

READ THE COMMENTS

Sean

August 19, 2009 at 9:07 am

WTF!

Direct conversion at the moment for $299 is approx $360…WHY are we paying $499?

Would be cheaper to import from Play Asia!

Stupid…

Reply
1. Sam Lawrence
  
  August 19, 2009 at 9:45 am
  
  EVERYONE!! GET OVER THE US Price… Direct Comparison from the Euro.
  
  299 euros = 511 AUS dollars.
  
  Reply
  1. Matfei
    
    August 19, 2009 at 10:05 am
    
    The Euro is where the whole discrepancy comes from anyway.
    
    Reply
2. Womble
  
  August 19, 2009 at 9:50 am
  
  “Would be cheaper to import from Play Asia!”
  
  Technically yes. But what price do you place on return policy, cost of shipping, warranty and repair issues?
  
  If you buy a PS3 from, say, Harvey Norman, and it has a problem, you can return it that day, get a new one. Try that with PlayAsia.
  
  Reply
  1. kaiiwa
    
    August 19, 2009 at 10:18 am
    
    “Technically yes. But what price do you place on return policy, cost of shipping, warranty and repair issues?”
    
    From past experience of importing from Jp, there is no return policy after a period of time, shipping should average maybe $80-90, and no warranty or repair issue costs because they i don’t think they’d accept it.
    
    Sony Australia won’t accept a Jp model because “we don’t have the parts to fix it” said a phone representative when i wanted mine fixed
    
    Reply
  2. Namarrgon
    
    August 19, 2009 at 2:43 pm
    
    Funny how you’ve discovered importing from overseas, but they haven’t.
    
    Reply
Simeon

August 19, 2009 at 9:10 am

They’ll want to pack in some games to make $500 worth it.

I was seriously going to buy a phat PS3 with this mornings news if they were $400… but now ugh.

Reply
Aaron Meacham

August 19, 2009 at 9:14 am

yeah…no. sony australia can kiss my ass.

Reply
Flame

August 19, 2009 at 9:17 am

That’s great news. With $200 reduction the PS3 should start picking up more in Aus!

Reply
Andy Te

August 19, 2009 at 9:18 am

Hmm, if they put the Emotion Engine back in, then i’m sold

Reply
John

August 19, 2009 at 9:18 am

I still think i got the best deal. And this was like more than 18 months ago.

40Gb model With an extra controller and game.

For trading in my old ps2 and 20 games. for AUD$299 :). I never played my ps2 anyhow. So i traded it in.

Reply
1. RocK_M
  
  August 22, 2009 at 6:31 pm
  
  My friend.. not to rain on your parade. But Seriously an EB trade-in deal is NOT a discount. At the most you will barely break even at worse you just threw away money and gave EB more things to make profit from..
  
  Lets do numbers.. a 40GB was worth 699 at the time now throw in the game/controller.. would probably increase the 700 to 850-900 give or take
  
  Now for the maths…
  $299 – your discounted price
  $99 – preowned PS2.. and thats from pawn shops.. not the overpriced stuff they sell from major retailers (add another 30-50 if u had 2 pads which most people do)
  $20 per game… and THAT is assuming that the games you are selling is either ye olde preowned or extreme budgetware. Which i doubt if you gave 20 of them in
  
  Soo.. 299 + 99 + 400 = $800 spent as opposed to buying the stuff up front for $850-900. Looks like you at least got 100-50 bucks off right?
  
  Lets not forget i gave you the “best case” scenario there.. most often you payed for a full price PS2.. 150-200 at least at the time.. and the games at least more than half of those games would have cost 50 or higher… =/
  
  Reply
slappy

August 19, 2009 at 9:20 am

It’s the RRP guys, big retailers will end up selling it for less.

I’ll be buying one.

Reply
1. Jay
  
  August 19, 2009 at 2:27 pm
  
  HAHAHAHA! obviously you’re too busy slapping away…
  
  Ever heard of EB Games? Obviously not.
  
  Well, let me introduce them to you. They’re the dudes who NEVER sell for less than the RRP. NEVER! Unless its a price match, they won’t. And they make sure they get the exclusives so you cannot price match.
  
  Now stop slapping to your computer screen.
  
  Reply
  1. Rob
    
    August 19, 2009 at 4:55 pm
    
    I’ll keep an eye out at JB cause they will soon bring it down more than EB
    
    Reply
  2. RocK_M
    
    August 22, 2009 at 6:33 pm
    
    @Rob: They already have xD They’ve got the Slim Advertised for 20 bucks off when it comes out xD
    
    Reply
Andrew Hobbs

August 19, 2009 at 9:20 am

goddamit sony! i just bought a phat model a few weeks ago!

Reply
1. EzyLee
  
  August 19, 2009 at 9:35 am
  
  The it is your own fault really, there has been so many rumors and proof that the slim was coming out. Anyone who takes notice of what goes on in the industry knew about the slim.
  
  Reply
  1. Andrew Hobbs
    
    August 19, 2009 at 10:07 am
    
    excuse me if i dont check this website every single day!
    
    Reply
    1. David Wildgoose
      
      August 19, 2009 at 10:09 am
      
      How dare you, Andrew!
      
      Reply
hero1

August 19, 2009 at 9:22 am

I don’t see how Sony Australia can justify the $500 pricetag. We have a strong Australian dollar.. $140 above what the price should be is crazy.. If they priced it at $400 here in Australia they would be extremely competitive against the Wii and the Xbox

Reply
Aman Gupta

August 19, 2009 at 9:23 am

I hate these australian conversion rates?! what is the basis of pricing the ps3 slim at $500?!?
299 U.S. dollars = 361.854048 Australian dollars

Reply
1. Namarrgon
  
  August 19, 2009 at 2:50 pm
  
  People always forget that US prices don’t include tax, so that’s AU$400 already. Then of course shipping is more expensive to Australia too, and rental/wages/fuel/general costs of business are higher here etc etc – and most importantly, who else is going to pay Sony Australia’s executive salaries?
  
  The Europeans get burned just as much or worse, and they at least have the economies of scale that we don’t have.
  
  Reply
  1. Chowder
    
    August 19, 2009 at 5:22 pm
    
    We wouldn’t nessesarily have to pay tax on it either if bought from an online retailer…
    
    Customs also won’t charge tax on anything valued less than $1000 AUD.
    
    Reply
MasterCyl

August 19, 2009 at 9:23 am

Man I’m torn, a PS3 pricedrop and a new form factor I ought to be stoked, but I’m going to come off sounding ungrateful.

David can you send back to Sony Aus that USD299.99 = AUD361.558.

I feel like a bit of a shit for putting it how I have above, I’m just really sick of the AU Tax we have to bear. I know it’s expected but that’s only because we have all bent over and paid it for years.

Reply
1. David Wildgoose
  
  August 19, 2009 at 9:36 am
  
  I’m sure Sony will point toward our price being in line with the European price – and in fact we’re marginally cheaper on today’s exchange rate. Sony’s Australian PlayStation operation is a division of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, after all.
  
  But yes, I have asked and I will report any comment they make.
  
  Reply
2. DeeDub
  
  August 19, 2009 at 9:50 am
  
  It’s not going to be a straight currency conversion. There are local taxes on top as well. Our government is largely to blame.
  
  Reply
  1. MasterCyl
    
    August 19, 2009 at 10:01 am
    
    Cheers David for the follow up.
    
    I’ve said it before that $450AUD is the right price point. Seems plus taxes and shipping that’s what it might have hit.
    
    http://www.kotaku.com.au/2009/06/monday-musings-activision-declares-war-on-sony/comment-page-1/#comment-27288
    
    Reply
Jokin Me

August 19, 2009 at 9:24 am

Seriously, they didn’t make enough Pal unit to get them through to slim release, so simply keep the price as high, slow demand, screw game makers and make a killing on them. I feel sorry for all those who have been screwed over in price over the last 6-12months. $400 is reasonable, $500 is still profiteering, on us poor aussies.

Reply
dango

August 19, 2009 at 9:27 am

How can we still get the phat PS3 when they are out of stock everywhere in Australia? =S

Reply
Peter Richards

August 19, 2009 at 9:27 am

$399 is the magic number for me… however, to do business in Australia you need to assume a Dollar of around 70cents as it fluctuates from 55 to 85 regularly.

At 70c, the USD$299 equates to $427, then add the 10% GST and you are at $470, so $499 isn’t gouging.

But I still want it at $399, I’m guessing they will go second hand for less than that, so will probably pick up a used one.

Reply
Gerry

August 19, 2009 at 9:31 am

You guys are forgetting 10% GST so its really 397 bucks. Not to mention the freight costs involved, but i agree it is overpriced but most electronics are in Australia.

For those whinging about the PS3 Price before put up or shut up, Sony cut the price now get one. There is no excuse considering Xbox Elite is much more expensive at RRP when you factor in all the addons and XBL.

Reply
HotDamn!

August 19, 2009 at 9:33 am

Sexytime.

Reply
Peter Richards

August 19, 2009 at 9:34 am

Well, the average price for the Australian dollar for the past year is 0.73c
http://www.exchange-rates.org/history/USD/AUD/G/360

So if you use that as your calculation (no company is going to use close to the highest exchange rate for the last year!) then you get:
USD$299 – AUD$409.50 add GST and that takes it to AUD$450.50

so it could be $449 realistically, but that is assuming that there is no price bump at all for a smaller market that it costs more to do business in.

I think at $449 you are on a par with the 360 pro/elite pricing and you get the Bluray and wireless and free online gaming, so it isn’t a total rort or anything.

C’mon Sony, make it $449 at least.

Reply
1. Womble
  
  August 19, 2009 at 9:43 am
  
  “Well, the average price for the Australian dollar for the past year is 0.73c”
  
  True, but remember that “average price” is based on a massive fall in value.
  
  Historically, over previous years, we’re really looking at around 85 cents.
  
  Just saying, is all.
  
  Reply
Womble

August 19, 2009 at 9:38 am

There is never a one-to-one translation in hardware pricing. It’s simply dearer to do business here in Australia because of distance and volume with respect to the population base.

Also, don’t forget to factor in GST. That’s 10% on the top.

It’s overpriced relative to the US price, yes, but I think a $200 price drop for Aussie customers is a big, big win.

This price drop will FINALLY make the PS3 relevant. And that’s coming from someone who owns one. The price has been the monkey on Sony’s back. (Well, that, and bloody PS3 fanboys.)

Reply
1. MasterCyl
  
  August 19, 2009 at 10:06 am
  
  You asked previously, in another new post what price I would have liked, I mentioned it above and linked to my price point of $450AUD.
  
  It’s not a real biggie, as odds are early next year we’ll see a deal or bundle making it worthwhile or nearer to this price point.
  
  Can’t wait to see MS’s next move in the console chess game we are all so intimately wrapped up in.
  
  Reply
caps369

August 19, 2009 at 9:42 am

well i know what i want for my bday….

i knew it was real ehn i saw the box art and vid a while back … you should of heard the naaaah it fake fake fake stuff… bet ya there hating it now

caps out

Reply
chuloopa

August 19, 2009 at 9:43 am

lol everyone wants a price drop, and now we’re getting one we’re still complaining.

Everyone chill, when christmas and boxing day sales hit they will be bundled with heaps of extras and much cheaper… take a breather 🙂

I’m sure we all have tonnes of other stuff to play in the meantime 🙂

Reply
Korwin

August 19, 2009 at 9:45 am

Well there is also the problem of localised inflation, low income wages in AUS are significantly higher than the US (minimum wage in the US is something like 60% of what it is here).

The cost of local operations will always relate to an increase in unit pricing by the distributer and at the retail end etc etc. $500 is a still a little steep but I wouldn’t call say a $450 tag entirely un-reasonable.

Hence why its often cheaper to import from places like Hong Kong, where labour and and unit pricing is lower which negates the cost of shipping etc.

Mind you this doesnt explain regional pricing issues with digital delivery services like Steam or Games on Demand, which really is total bs.

Reply
JAck

August 19, 2009 at 9:45 am

Does the US$ price of the playstation 3 include taxes?, Laws in australia mandate that the advertised price of something at retail needs to include all taxes. I have a feeling in the us taxes get added on at the checkout which may account for the price differance to a degree. Just a thought anyway

Reply
1. Sean
  
  August 19, 2009 at 10:35 am
  
  That’s a very good point Jack, that is the case, I think its about %9 for electronics.
  
  Reply
Womble

August 19, 2009 at 9:49 am

To the naysayers, look at this way: Sony have finally stopped trying to compete by bundling. They have realized that bundling doesn’t work when your price is so high, because the added value of the bundle isn’t factored in by the consumer. (They mentally do the logic “what would the price be if they didn’t include this stuff?”.)

This is a big win for all concerned because it divorces the hardware from the games, and allows retailers to more easily produce their own bundles, allowing them to better compete on price. Instead of Sony (or MS) dictating the bundle, Sony will be focusing on the task of getting consoles in to homes, instead of trying to sell them on LBP or KZ2 or whatever.

This in turn, will spur MS to look at their own pricing.

Reply
Peter Richards

August 19, 2009 at 9:49 am

Isn’t the 360 elite about $499 anyway?

Reply
1. Womble
  
  August 19, 2009 at 10:15 am
  
  “Isn’t the 360 elite about $499 anyway?”
  
  The thing about the Elite is that (IMO) it’s always been grossly overpriced. The Arcade and Pro were the sweet spots.
  
  I see MS as moving to the “Elite” to the Pro’s price or lower. i.e. they have a LOT of room to move on the Elite pricing (unlike the Arcade.)
  
  Reply
2. Simeon
  
  August 19, 2009 at 10:22 am
  
  It won’t be for long. Pro is being dropped and Elite going into its spot.
  
  Reply
3. D
  
  August 19, 2009 at 12:43 pm
  
  RRP of the Elite at the moment is $549 and the Pro is $449.
  
  So $499 for the PS3 is a VERY compeditive price point.
  
  Now it’s the XBox that needs the price cut.
  
  Reply
Austin

August 19, 2009 at 9:51 am

I agree with Peter – it’s on par with the 360 Elite with a few more features, it’s $200 cheaper then the “phat” and yet you guys are still whinging.

Sony Europe is always going to behind the US and Japan. We’re still waiting for Metal Gear Solid on the PSN, apparently Capcom hasn’t submitted the Resident Evil titles to Sony so we might not see those titles for some time if at all. I’m not holding my breath for the Video Downloads.

Be happy that we’re actually getting a price cut and a $200 one at that.

Reply
1. Blah2
  
  August 19, 2009 at 11:19 am
  
  There’s just one noticeable feature it lacks, good exclusive titles.
  
  Lemme know when the PS3 gets a game worth 500 dollars and I will hit it up.
  
  Reply
  1. Ad
    
    August 19, 2009 at 11:44 am
    
    Kratos is waving his Blades of Athena here…
    
    Reply
  2. D
    
    August 19, 2009 at 1:33 pm
    
    There are plenty of games you troll. If you can’t realize that you seriously have problems.
    
    Reply
  3. Trent Strickland
    
    August 19, 2009 at 7:40 pm
    
    Infamous, killzone 2, resistance 1 and 2, littlebigplanet, Metal Gear Solid 4, Ratchet and clank TOD/Q4B/CIT, Uncharted 1/2, MAG is that enough for now?
    
    Reply
  4. Matt Fryer
    
    August 19, 2009 at 11:07 pm
    
    KZ2 and MGS4 is about all the PS3 has at the moment, everything else either has a better equivalent on the Xbox or it’s just shocking. When the PS3 Slim is bundled with KZ2 and MGS4 for $499 then I’ll consider it.
    
    Reply
flyingphush

August 19, 2009 at 9:55 am

Heres something to cheer you up.

It’s more expensive in NZ (About AUD7, but who cares about the details?)

Reply
oggob

August 19, 2009 at 10:02 am

WOW… just WOW… I can’t believe alot of you…

Less than 24hrs ago, the US price was $399… or AU$481, we were paying $699… everyone wanted a price cut, not just here, but around the world…

we actually get one and it’s not enough?!?! talking direct conversion, then our price cut should have been ‘only’ $AU120… we got a $AU200 price cut, it’s now technically cheaper than the RRP of the 360 Elite (which has the same 120GB HDD), it’s not the most expensive kid on the block anymore…

I believe the US price doesn’t include Sales Tax, whereas our price already includes ALL taxes…

The other factor though is that Sony Australia is still under the Europe umbrella, so technically we should be looking at our price compared to the UK… GBP299 = AU599… so I think we can consider ourselves to be in front of some other markets… While we might not have the cheapest, we certainly aren’t the most expensive…

Either save for one now (which shouldn’t be that hard) or wait another 2 years before another price cut…

Reply
1. TheD
  
  August 19, 2009 at 10:30 am
  
  No, we should be looking at the price vs US, the reason that consoles cost so much in Europe is because they have to be shipped a longer distance and Europe has very high taxs (much higher than Aus).
  
  Reply
Qumulys

August 19, 2009 at 10:04 am

I think its great~! Any word of if any tech has been left out, or even added??

Reply
1. Paul Down
  
  August 19, 2009 at 10:18 am
  
  You can no longer install Linux, but apart from that, absolutely nothing.
  
  Reply
  1. Namarrgon
    
    August 19, 2009 at 2:59 pm
    
    They added in an HDMI-CEC-like ability to be controlled via your TV’s remote. Presumably to do this they had to upgrade the HDMI interface chip, or they would’ve added it via software already.
    
    Since the PS3 could previously only output PCM audio – DTS-HD MA and Dolby TrueHD had to be decoded onboard, because the HDMI chip didn’t fully support 1.3a – I wonder if that means that the Slim will now be able to output bitsream audio from Blu-Rays?
    
    Reply
Paul Down

August 19, 2009 at 10:17 am

Wow, I can’t believe this. It’s a 200 dollar price point drop, and it might even just go a little less at retail. What’s with all these stupid comments?

When u factor in buying a 360 elite and all the things you need to pay for on the side, this is a great deal.

Reply
Kincuri

August 19, 2009 at 10:19 am

Exactly where I thought it would be.

$299 US = Around $375 AU + 10% GST = Around $410. Adding the usual import/transport costs, plus the expected Sony Europe/Australia mark-up that has always happened, would make $499 a nice pricing figure. Its a sweet $150 to $200 price drop.

The removal of the “other OS” support is a killer. Scuttled my plans of having a combined gaming console + potential desktop replacement 🙁 Oh wells…

Reply
1. Sing Nguyen
  
  August 19, 2009 at 11:00 am
  
  My thoughts exactly on the loss of other OS support. Though granted the other OS would’ve only done one thing for me anyway, which was calculations over an extended period of time. That would’ve meant however that a) I wouldn’t be able to play the PS3 at the same time, and b) that might eventually kill the PS3.
  
  I’m curious though Kincuri; would it have completely replaced your desktop, and what are your average computer activities? I can see myself browsing the internet on it, but opening up PDFs and typing up Word documents or working on Excel spreadsheets I can’t really see happening.
  
  Ding!
  
  Reply
  1. Kincuri
    
    August 19, 2009 at 5:13 pm
    
    As a student, it would have been a way to cut costs while at the same time justifying the purchase of a gaming console 🙂
    
    I would have stuck on Yellow Dog, just so that I would be able to do assignments (Open Office), browse the web, edit images and check emails. $500 for a gaming console, bluray player AND a desktop PC (albeit a limited PC) seemed like a good deal. Especially if I would be able to hook it up to a TV to use as a monitor.
    I suppose there are PS3 phats for sale for at least a little while at a decent price.
    
    Reply
2. MasterCyl
  
  August 20, 2009 at 9:25 am
  
  The maths behind the price drop are wrong, you are all taking the 299US then adding shipping/import costs. It doesn’t work that way, they need to be shipped and imported to the US as well and it’s further away.
  
  The direct conversion should work plus GST as all other costs shipping,importing,profit,retail markup have already been added into this price.
  
  Reply
DefoliateCoffee

August 19, 2009 at 10:29 am

In my opinion the PS3 Phat looks better

Reply
Jethro Tickner

August 19, 2009 at 10:50 am

Jesus, we get $200 knocked off the price and people still winge? It’s better than nothing.

Reply
Michael Grouse

August 19, 2009 at 10:55 am

Going against the grain here I know, but I’m grateful. I will pick one up on, or soon after launch.

Reply
brad

August 19, 2009 at 11:39 am

chill the f**k out ppl.
this will end up on the shelves for around $420-$450 at the larger discount retailers. i bought my 40gig for $550 at kmart in 07. you just gotta wait till you see a price your happy with. i dare say we will see a lot of ps2 owners crossing over now…. finally!!

Reply
Aaron Browning

August 19, 2009 at 12:20 pm

You guys are all missing the big issue here. The PS3 Slim is MATTE and doesn’t have TOUCH BUTTONS. I like the idea of something that looks and feels like a space station. Now it’s just going to look and feel like a PS2.

Reply
1. Kenan
  
  August 19, 2009 at 2:10 pm
  
  I suppose you play games on consoles? or you just like to look at them?
  
  Reply
Richard

August 19, 2009 at 1:02 pm

What a bunch of ingrates. You’re getting $200 off and you’re still complaining.

Reply
qoutheraven

August 19, 2009 at 2:18 pm

Saw A sign At JB HIFI Pre Order PS3 Slim $488…

Reply
Dave

August 19, 2009 at 4:44 pm

I dont understand what everyone is worried about with price. People will easily put down $500 – $1000 for some whatever phone but for some reason a awesome game console that does so much isnt worth that much? Please explain!

Reply
Stephen Alexander

August 19, 2009 at 7:05 pm

I’m surprised at the number of people complaining here that Sony didn’t cut the cost enough. $200 is a HUGE amount of the price of the console, what’s more you get a 120GB hard drive as standard as opposed to all the 80GB models we’ve been selling here in Australia. Had I not already bought my PS3 last year with LBP for $672, I’d be jumping all over this offer!

There have been a lot of people at JB asking for the PS3 this past month anyway, with NO KNOWLEDGE that a slim was coming into play, they were quite ready to spend $700. Lucky for them we didn’t have any left and now they’ll get to save $200!

Reply
Trent Strickland

August 19, 2009 at 7:41 pm

BOOM!!!

Reply
nops3

August 21, 2009 at 2:10 pm

It is not a problem of USD=AUD conversion. It is all about respect. The Australian have never won the respect of SONY.

Just look at the price for XBOX360 and Wii, which follow precisely and nicely the USD-AUD conversion+ GST. That’s the sole reason why I buy M$ Xbox and Wii, but not PSX.

SONY is arrogant.

Unless the AU price is comparable with US price (factor out GST), I will never by PS3.

Reply

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