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And we thought Argentina had it bad. In Brazil, the land of high video game import taxes, PlayStation fans will have to shell out 3,999 Brazilian Real for Sony's next console come November 29. That's roughly $1,850 USD. Ouch. 34
The $100 price advantage the $399 PlayStation 4 enjoys over the $499 Xbox One here in the States is nothing compared to the massive difference between the two in Brazil. According to our Brazilian sister site, Microsoft's console will be sold for a mere R$ 2,200, or $1,016 USD.
Why the massive difference? Speaking to G1, Sony Brazil explained that between 60 to 70 percent of the cost was made up of import fees and taxes. That would come out to $1,292 USD in fees, leaving only $554 USD for the console. Sony also announced that games for the system will run a relatively reasonable R$ 179, around $80 USD.
In comparison, the 120GB version of the PlayStation 3 launched officially in Brazil in 2010 for R$ 1,999, or $923 USD.
South America is certainly getting the shaft when it comes to the PlayStation 4 prices. As reported previously, Argentinians will be paying $1,100 USD for the console, while in Chile the unit is priced at 329,999 Chilean pesos — about U.S. $ 1,700.
According to research from GfK cited by Kotaku Brazil, the Xbox 360 is currently the most popular video game console in the country, with an 85 percent market share. Considering the cost difference between the two next-generation consoles, I don't see Sony gaining very much ground there in the years to come.
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