Sony is bringing 4K gaming with PlayStation 4 Pro to the shores of Brazil, which is great news for many gamers in the country. Unfortunately, if they want to get their hands on Sony's latest console, they need to be willing to shell out quite a lot of money.
According to a blog post by Carlos Paschoal, the head of PlayStation in Brazil, the PS4 Pro is set to launch in the South American country on Feb. 19 with a launch price of R$2,999 which equates to just a little over US$935. Take note that PS4 Pro's retail value in the United States is US$400 — less than half the cost of the console in Brazil.
This is not the first time Brazil got the short end of the stick when it comes to high console fees. When the original PS4 first launched in Brazil, it was priced at R$3,999 which, at the time, was around US$1,850. According to a post by Mark Stanley, the acting general manager for PlayStation Latin America at the time, the biggest components of the cost were taxes and distributor fees, which took up 85 percent of the console's asking price.
"We want to emphasize that it isn't in the interest of Sony Computer Entertainment America to sell PS4 units at this high retail price, as it's not good for our gamers and it's not good for the PlayStation brand," said Stanley about the backlash on the original PS4's retail price back then.
Regardless of what Sony wants for their audience, there is little that can be done about the tax laws surrounding imported goods in Brazil. Because of this, it has become normal for people living in Brazil to purchase their consoles through third party merchants because it will always be cheaper than how much official retailers will sell these products.
