I am considereing buying a PS3 from America on import when it comes out (I live in England). There seems to be no reason not to. Games are cheaper and they come out sooner. The only thing I think I will need is a step down transformer which connects to my plug socket to change the voltage. Will I need aything else or will this be OK. I'm particularly interested in teh connections to my TV, which I gather would be unaffected.

To early to say really. They may manufacture the consoles with a dual voltage power supply (110v/240v) like the PSP charger (i.e. just need to swap the plug). It won't be out (even in Japan or the States) until at least Spring 2006 so it's a bit early to be considering an import. The video cables will be standard no matter which console you buy though.

firstly PS3 is a long way off yet, even the usa version! it could be autumn 2006 before the yanks see it. the price will be through the roof also. best advise is stick with the uk/european machine,....get a 360 to tide you over till then

and also bear in mind that SONY, have been cracking down on import hardware/software[ just look at the psp ] so import PS3,S are gonna definetly be sonys next target,

It's way to early to consider this option without all the known facts. Besides the import price on this initially is going to be absurd.

Well at the current exchange rate it still should be cheaper than buying a UK-spec’d machine at launch!

Thanks for the answers. I was hoping people would be able to comment fro mexperiances of importing the PS2. Anyone do that?

I have imported all 3 of the major consoles and a PSP. However i would suggest you import directly through an online retailer not through an import specialist as they rip you off.

When I lived in the UK i imported everything. Yes I used to get ripped off but I was always satisfied as I got everything before anyone else and the quality was usually better. (pal/ntsc business)

I dont know if the quality will be better with this generation of consoles as they are all supposed to offer hi def gaming, but with every console up till now its always been better to import.

A good example would be how US and Jp Xboxes offer hi deff but UK models doesnt (out of the box)

Any recommendations for importing hardware?

For Japanese imports the likes of Lik Sang, Yes Asia, Play Asia. For US/Canadian imports the likes of VG+. I wouldn't use DVD Soon if you want the console before christmas going on their PSP performance!

To be fair to DVDSOON, they claimed it was Sony's inability to deliver the standard PSP value pack that was the problem. They were only given the PSP pack with the Wayne Gretzky game so couldn't meet orders for the standard pack. Though I got my PSP 2 weeks after release date they did ship me the Gretzky pack at no extra charge. On top of that the free del was via recorded del all the way from Canada. That has to be worth ?20!? I paid $240 (?100 ish) for my PSP value pack + Gretzky (- Spiderman UMD movie), a pack that retails for $450 if I'm not mistaken. All in, though delivery was slow, you can't argue with the price. I mean Where else could you have got the Gretzky pack shipped to the Uk via recorded del for ?100? Also got RR for just ?18 del.

Thanks for this Cas!

I agree, can't fault the price and it may not have been all their fault, but it was still poor service. They failed to keep us informed and we were left in limbo.