Why is the PS4 so expensive in Brazil?

Looking to quell some of the uproar over the PS4’s $1,800 USD price tag in Brazil, Sony took to the web to provide a breakdown over the price.

“We have read thousands of your comments and heard your frustration loud and clear about the PlayStation 4 retail price of R$3,999 in Brazil,” General Manager for Latin America Marc Stanley said on the PS Blog. “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.”

63 percent of the Brazil’s PS4 price comes from import taxes and fees, Stanley revealed. Providing a transparent breakdown of the PS4’s numbers, Stanley added that 15.5 percent of its price come from retailer markups and 21.5 percent from a “PS4 transfer price.” He did note that SCEA is continuing to discuss the import taxes with government agencies and is looking ahead to “the opportunity” of manufacturing the console locally which would greatly reduce the price. Unfortunately, no timeframe as to when this sort of thing could happen was given.