PS3 should not be compared with Wii, says Sony Oz boss

SCE Australia boss Michael Ephraim has responded to criticisms of the PS3's high price point by stating that the console is in a different league to its rivals.

"We think PS3 is not a product to be compared with Wii, it is a completely different product. This is a digital hub, that is a games console," he told news site The Age.

"To maximise Xbox 360, you need Media Centre, you need a PC. And now if you want to play high-definition movies (and we can argue which format is going to win) you have to spend another AUD $249 [EUR 150]. Xbox is significantly dearer than PS3 for what it can do straight out of the box."

According to Ephraim, there is "no other product on the market" that offers digital content and Blu-ray features for the same price as PS3.

"We firmly believe that once demonstrated, the price becomes almost insignificant. A Blu-ray player currently is $1500 [EUR 900] and above. Just on the Blu-ray alone, there's value." However, Sony recently announced that Blu-ray players costing US $599 / EUR 450 are set to go on sale in the US this summer.

Ephraim said that PS3 offers "a much broader entertainment position than our competitors", adding, "then the price becomes, to say cheap would be bold, an insignificant factor".

The 60GB PS3 will cost AUD $999 when it launches in Australia on March 23, directly equivalent to the European price point of EUR 599. However, the machine is USD $599 in the States - equivalent to AUD $750 / EUR 450.

Ephraim cited factors such as Australia's smaller population base, higher costs of running a business and higher taxes as the reason for the higher price.

"Also, for the history of Sony Computer Entertainment, we report to London. Compared to Europe and the UK, we're right in line," he continued.

"We can have an endless argument about who do you compare price with: US or Europe. If you compare to Europe, our price is spot on."

Ephraim went on to say that Sony is "hard at work now looking at the manufacturing benefits they can gain to bring the price down over time", adding, "We will do our best to bring the price down as soon as we can."