GDC 07: UK retailers didn't want the 20GB
by Andrew Yoon 
{ Mar 9th 2007 at 11:00AM }
Some UK residents have felt angered by Sony's pricing scheme in the PAL territories. At £425 (~$820 US), European users are paying quite a lot to get a chance to PLAY B3YOND. One reason for the price hike? The government-imposed VAT, which makes up for up to 20% of the cost. "The money doesn't go to Sony," Harrison reminded.While the availability of a 20GB model would have certainly alleviated some financial pressures on European buyers, it simply wasn't possible: retailers said they only wanted 60GB versions. Considering the numerous retail schemes that have popped up in Europe, color me unsurprised.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Welshbloke @ Mar 9th 2007 11:50AM
What a load of bolderdash. The VAT is 17.5% a small difference I know but worth pointing out. You cannot tell me that ALL retailers have choosen not to stock the 20gb version. Believe me if they had the choose they would order it especially if requested by a customer. To say that they did not want so nobody gets one is sounds like the blame game.
Welshbloke @ Mar 9th 2007 11:50AM
"had the choice" curse this lack of edit feature.
Bertrand @ Mar 10th 2007 2:02AM
Err, let's do some basic fact checking here. You know, like journalists used to do.
So 20%? Err, wrong. 17.5%.
"The money doesn't go to Sony"? Err, let's see. 17.5% of 425 pounds, that's 350 remaining, which is at today's exchange rate approximately $678. That means $78 more dollars in Sony's pocket.
Err, come again? How do you call that? I call that assuming your customers are idiots.