I've seen a lot of commentary on why the PS5 Pro and other items are significantly more expensive in other regions.
The first major factor is VAT. The prices we see for the EU for example include the VAT while prices for the US do not include sales tax. VAT can be as high as 27 percent depending on country, but that would simply result in importing non-region locked PS5s from other countries, so of course you're going to get the highest price in the region to prevent that. Obviously that doesn't account for the total discrepancy, but there is more. This is a regulatory cost.
Sony's products come with a 1 year manufacturer's warranty basically across the world, but the EU goes further and requires a 2 year warranty. Sony and other manufacturers must account for the cost of that additional warranty period. Sony may have to replace an entire PS5 during a second year of warranty coverage. Those costs add up and of course manufacturers will look for more on purchase to make up for it. This is a regulatory cost.
You'll notice that software pricing seems more directly in line with US prices + VAT as games don't require the same warranty cost.
Then there is also currency fluctuation and of course you're not going to adjust prices every day, so you may pad the price a bit to protect yourself from major fluctuations. This is an economic cost.
There's also the increased cost of doing business in these smaller individual regions. This is a geographical cost. These regions bring in less revenue per the cost of operating.
Japan actually has the shortest warranty and highest price for the PS5 Pro at 842.55. Japan has a 10 percent consumption tax, which would normally bring its price to 769.98 USD, but as I mentioned you have to build in for fluctuation of currency and you have to protect against scalping in China. You have to protect against possible currency manipulation from China in addition to scalping.
The first major factor is VAT. The prices we see for the EU for example include the VAT while prices for the US do not include sales tax. VAT can be as high as 27 percent depending on country, but that would simply result in importing non-region locked PS5s from other countries, so of course you're going to get the highest price in the region to prevent that. Obviously that doesn't account for the total discrepancy, but there is more. This is a regulatory cost.
Sony's products come with a 1 year manufacturer's warranty basically across the world, but the EU goes further and requires a 2 year warranty. Sony and other manufacturers must account for the cost of that additional warranty period. Sony may have to replace an entire PS5 during a second year of warranty coverage. Those costs add up and of course manufacturers will look for more on purchase to make up for it. This is a regulatory cost.
You'll notice that software pricing seems more directly in line with US prices + VAT as games don't require the same warranty cost.
Then there is also currency fluctuation and of course you're not going to adjust prices every day, so you may pad the price a bit to protect yourself from major fluctuations. This is an economic cost.
There's also the increased cost of doing business in these smaller individual regions. This is a geographical cost. These regions bring in less revenue per the cost of operating.
Japan actually has the shortest warranty and highest price for the PS5 Pro at 842.55. Japan has a 10 percent consumption tax, which would normally bring its price to 769.98 USD, but as I mentioned you have to build in for fluctuation of currency and you have to protect against scalping in China. You have to protect against possible currency manipulation from China in addition to scalping.
