Now several retail execs have confirmed that the £425 figure is correct, and said they are expecting an official announcement from Sony next week. It's thought that the 20GB PlayStation 3 will NOT be made available in the UK, at least during the initial launch period.
The announcement is also expected to confirm a March 23 launch date across Europe, as previously reported.
The UK price is equivalent to just under EUR 647, which is likely to elicit complaints about "rip-off Britain" as Sony has confirmed that the 60GB PS3 will cost EUR 599 in most other European territories. The price for Ireland, however, has been set at EUR 629.99, apparently due to a higher VAT rate.
One retail source said that the higher UK price has not been driven by Sony but by British retailers, who traditionally seek bigger profit margins than their Continental counterparts.