Sony PS3 to cost 499-599EUR

In an attempt to justify what will seem to many consumers to be a high price, Fornay said buyers won't just get a latest-generation games machine but an HD playback system with a Blu-ray Disc drive.

Indeed, with first-generation BD players set to be priced at between $1,000 (£570) and $1,800 (£1,026) when the come to market in the US, the PS3 starts to look less like a bad deal, and even the Euro to Dollar equivalent pricing, $612-735, indicates the PS3 will be the cheapest BD player by far.