A Q&A with Sony Australia’s Michael Ephraim

Following the announcement that the PS3 will be released in March 23, 2007 in both Australia and Europe, Sony fans rejoiced. But GameSpot Australia’s Randolph Ramsay had a few questions for managing director Michael Ephraim of SCE Australia.

SCE Australia is intent on delivering the 60GB SKU of the PS3 to Australia over the 20GB SKU. Why the focus, you ask? Well it’s because pre-orders in the land down under are almost only asking for the top-end version for complete functionality.

While Sony AU isn’t completely abandoning the 20GB SKU, they will probably consider distributing it once demand is high enough. The price difference between the two versions is roughly estimated at AU$ 170, which Sony is confident that consumers who were planning to get the low-end version could afford. As Ephraim said, “the benefits for another A$170 are clearly there.”

What about the one million PS3 units packed for the PAL countries on launch date? Sony AU says they will get a significant portion of the first million stocked, but are expecting to come short on consumer demand in New Zealand and Australia. Even if the release of the Xbox 360 has happened earlier in the region, Sony is sure that they will be able to exceed the current 360 sales.

Following the announcement that the PS3 will be released in March 23, 2007 in both Australia and Europe, Sony fans rejoiced. But GameSpot Australia’s Randolph Ramsay had a few questions for managing director Michael Ephraim of SCE Australia.

SCE Australia is intent on delivering the 60GB SKU of the PS3 to Australia over the 20GB SKU. Why the focus, you ask? Well it’s because pre-orders in the land down under are almost only asking for the top-end version for complete functionality.

While Sony AU isn’t completely abandoning the 20GB SKU, they will probably consider distributing it once demand is high enough. The price difference between the two versions is roughly estimated at AU$ 170, which Sony is confident that consumers who were planning to get the low-end version could afford. As Ephraim said, “the benefits for another A$170 are clearly there.”

What about the one million PS3 units packed for the PAL countries on launch date? Sony AU says they will get a significant portion of the first million stocked, but are expecting to come short on consumer demand in New Zealand and Australia. Even if the release of the Xbox 360 has happened earlier in the region, Sony is sure that they will be able to exceed the current 360 sales.