The Australian market has to pay a hefty fee for their PS3's -- think around the one-thousand mark. With that in mind, the Sony reps down under have a lot of swaying to do in an attempt to prove to consumers that the PlayStation 3 is the wave of the future. Their main way to do this is to get the consoles into as many demo units as possible so as many people as possible can get a hands-on impression Sony's new system.

We've already shown how Australian retailers are going all the way in support of Blu-ray, so this push for the PS3 is just another step to qualify the price of the system. According to Michael Ephraim of SCE, "the key retailers -- Harvey Norman, Domayne, JB, Myer -- all these stores that I have just mentioned sell consumer electronics and they see the benefit to selling PS3 properly because they will sell Bravia (TVs), MP3 Players (and) Walkmans. Demo is the way to go. It is a strategic direction I have given the organisation as far as marketing dollars, retail co-op dollars." Righteous. Personally, I wouldn't be able to snag the PS3 for a four-figure amount and few people will (unless the conversion rate is a lot different than assumed). All we can say in this situation is, "Good luck, Sony..." It's going to be a hard sell, fo' sho'.