At times, being Irish is great. Going to to the pub, talking to leprechauns, and having great craic. But it’s at times like these that being Irish isn’t all that wonderful. Like the rest of Europe we have been forced to wait until March before we can get our hands on a PS3 and there isn’t much anyone can really do about it. When this was announced back in May 2006 at E3, it was also announced that the 20GB PS3 would cost €499 and the 60GB would cost €599. But it seems that Sony will be charging the Irish €30 more on both versions, that is when we get both versions.

Update: We now have confirmation of all three prices; that of Europe, the UK and Ireland. Plus, there was a slip up on release dates, and the UK also won’t be getting the 20GB version. More details after the original post.

Games Industry has posted an article which says that the Official Sony PS3 Irish website (it’s in English, don’t worry), is stating that the 60GB version will cost you €629.99 instead of €599.99 like in the rest of Europe. It also says that the 20GB version will cost the Irish €529.99, instead of €499.99, when it’s launched in Ireland. Yes, that’s right. The 20GB PS3 will not be available in Ireland at launch. Even though Microsoft did charge an extra €9.99 on Xbox 360s here, that is only a third of what Sony is adding on and unlike Sony, Microsoft did make both versions of their console available to the Irish on December 2, 2005.

While some people may think it’s stupid to argue over €30, you must consider that when you multiply that by the amount of consoles that will be sold here you will find that Sony will be making a lot of money from this. So what can we do about this? We could try buying a PS3 from an online store that operates in the UK. Not only would this mean that you’d most likely get it cheaper (if you buy it from a store that offers free P&P), but it would also mean that you would probably be able to buy the 20GB version. However, this brings up two questions. Firstly, will it be just Ireland that doesn’t have the 20GB version available right away, or other parts of Europe have to live with only the 60GB version for a while too? Secondly, will Sony slap on an extra £20 or so in the UK? I’d love to hear what other gamers, especially Irish gamers, think on this matter so please let us know in the comments section.

Update: Firstly, the UK won’t be receiving the 20GB model because, based on retailer feedback, the 60GB is in much more popular demand. Secondly, the prices for the whole of Europe have been revealed, with reasoning behind the inflated prices. As mentioned above, Ireland will see the 60GB version only for €629, while the rest of Europe will receive the 60GB model for €599, whilst the 20GB model is still rumoured to go on sale at €499. The UK will see the 60GB model for £425. The reason? Ireland is an extra €20 compared to Europe due to their VAT rates being higher, at 21%. No reason was given to as to why the UK’s price was so high. Thirdly, Sony CEO Howard Stringer let slip that the launch wouldn’t be until April. Sony have since refuted this, and we are still on track for the 23rd of March, according to Threespeech again.

Many thanks to Lotus 111s for submitting this.