Why is the PlayStation 3 more expensive in the UK than it is in the rest of Europe?

Well the first thing that is important is that I want the price to be as low as possible, because the lower the price the more we sell – we' re a software model.

If you take the product at the factory gates there are slight variations to price if you' re putting out a single sku product, but it' s very, very small. But then the differences start to accumulate. If you' ve got different shipping costs and import duties that makes variation in price. And that' s just getting it into a country. Then you have a look at the economic and financial situation in each and every territory. That' s where the differences start to vary massively.

If you take what' s considered to be the most expensive and the least expensive – consider the US with its massive land and cheap people. Then you look at the UK – a little island where rent and rates are at an absolute premium, and the cost of people is a lot more. The cost of retail is vastly more in the UK than it is in the US and that' s before you even stop to consider the US doesn' t have VAT at RRP, they put a small amount on afterwards. Whereas, we get stung by 17.5 per cent. And pity the poor Irish and places like Sweden.