Shoutbox

£425 is actually better than I ever expected the PS3 to be, but I bet you anything the final retail price won't be that high. I mean, the XBox 360 is £279 yes? Even Sony can't justify an extra £146 for a PS3. At least the Euro price is only slightly lower than the UK price.

The reason for the Euro consoles (and Australian as well I believe) is due to the conversion from NTSC to PAL, and also the conversion from 120V to 230V. Both add cost to the console: a higher voltage means more heat means more cooling, and PAL is different enough to NTSC to require a significant redesign of the video out circuitry.
Edit: Also got to add the fact that the console will have to be put through Euro standards tests before it can be sold here. That of course costs money.
It's not US$200 worth though, surely?

Even if the console is released at £425, it'll drop in December to accelerate Christmas buying.