i think the continent, whilst pricey by north american standards, isn;t as bad as skanksville engerland!
the best deals you can sort out over here, are bundles, with a few select (ie shit) games, and few periferals like controllers and memory...
currently, the brucey bargain is 40Gb for £290
Cheap PS3 deals from £285, new PS3 console bundles From £289
which is what.... just shy of 600 dollars US?