Do you think South African gamers have it bad when it comes to how much consoles, games and PC hardware cost? Well, be glad you don’t live in Brazil, then: Sony recently announced the Brazilian retail price of its imminent PlayStation 4 next-generation console, and it’s a mind-blowing 3,999 Brazilian Real (R$), the equivalent of 1 800 American dollars or just under 18 000 South African rand. That’s almost three times as much as the PS4’s local price of R6299! Feeling any better about it? I sure am.
The crazy pricing is down to Brazil’s heavy taxes levied against videogames and their associated hardware. The PS4’s launch games don’t fare much better, with a launch price of R$179 which is 82 American dollars and just over 800 rand. That’s not quite as high a premium as on the console itself, but it’s still not exactly cheap.
In contrast, the PlayStation 3 cost R$1999 ($923/R9000) back in 2006, which was still more than what the Americans were paying ($599) but it wasn’t twice as much. What makes it even worse for the poor Brazilians is that the PS4 will sell in the US for just $399, which makes it the cheapest PlayStation at launch for our American friends.
So, if you’re looking at our local price and breathing a sigh of relief that it’s now looking surprisingly reasonable in the face of what is happening elsewhere in the world, you’re not alone.