Sony, have you got a problem in Australia?

Stan Beer
Friday, 02 November 2007 14:00

Your IT - Entertainment

It's not often that I give voice to readers who send me emails. However, this disaffected Sony gamer, a desktop support engineer for the Australian office of a major global company, was so indignant with Sony's treatment of its loyal fans in Australia, that his words almost jumped off the page.

The following is part of the email, edited to remove typos, correct some spelling mistakes and grammatical errors and remove some of the more shall we say colourful language:

"Sony is screwing Australia.

"Let me start by saying, this is not the first time Sony has done this.

"I am fed up with Sony and the #*%@ they pile into this country for maximum profit! I am pointing to the PS3 40GB version.

"First of all the same product costs (the equivalent of) AUD$500 in the US, so why the extra $200 per unit?

"Second of all they have removed / do not ship the other models to Australia anymore. This means that you cannot buy a PS3 that will play PS2 games. Why is it that Australia seems to get the raw end of the deal, is it our "no worries" attitude? So now I need to buy both units as the range of games on the PS3 is weak as worm p*ss… I don’t think so. I have been a supporter of Sony for many years and my first PS2 I bought in the UK 5 years ago is still going today but the company seems to have changed since then. They don't deliver anymore and have lost the edge.

"This may seem like a geek on a rampage but it's not only the PS3 but a range of other Sony products that seems to be 15-20% more expensive to the USA and UK price tags. Now don’t give me the old "shipping expenses" bulltwan, as one of the major shipping trade route is right along side Australia and far closer to Asia then America."

The email goes on to compare the PS3 unfavourably with Xbox 360 and makes the (inaccurate) statement that there is no price disparity between the Xbox 360 in the US and Australia. In fact, if we compare the US price tags of the 40GB PS3 (US$400) and the 20GB Xbox 360 (US$350), at today's exchange rates they both come in considerably cheaper than the AUD$700 for the PS3 and the AUD$580 for the Xbox 360 here. The Nintendo Wii at US$250 is also considerably cheaper in the US than the AUD$400 in Australia.

All consoles cost more here than the US and it is true that the disparity in the case of Sony is slightly higher but not that much higher than the others. Why is it the case that consoles cost more here? It's hard to say but it's probably a combination of the relatively small size of the market and higher import duty rates. Australia is generally also more expensive than the US for computers.

As for Sony now only offering the 40GB PS3 in Australia, that's a harder one to answer. It's possible that Sony figures that the PS2 is now so cheap and is still selling so well, that the company has a better chance of selling a $700 PS3 to gamers that already have a PS2 than a $900 or $1000 PS3 to gamers that already have a PS2. It also gives Sony the opportunity to offer the market a cheaper Blu-ray player.

Whether Sony is guilty or not of the charges made by the user above, judging by people I speak to in the gaming sphere, it seems that there is an undercurrent of resentment building towards the company's perceived arrogance in the user community. However, given Microsoft has been able to make huge quality concerns with Xbox 360 disappear into the background with the release of Halo 3, I suspect many of Sony's PS3 and image issues would also disappear once some good exclusive titles make their way to the market.