Will Blu-Ray disks be region coded?
Although the PS3 games will play on the US console, you may have to stick to US disks to watch films.
Blu-Ray discs are region coded:
Region code Area
A/1 North America, Central America, South America, Koreas, Japan, Taiwan, Hong Kong and Southeast Asia.
B/2 Europe, Greenland, French territories, Middle East, Africa, Australia and New Zealand.
C/3 India, Nepal, Mainland China, Russia, Central and South Asia.
However, many disks sold are region-free at present.
In terms of standard definition DVD, a US PS3 is likely to be restricted to Region 1 (NTSC) DVDs as well.
Not that either of these facts is much of a deterrent, as US DVDs still tend to have better features and/or come out sooner than European R2 equivalents.
In terms of the price, the PS3 is an expensive console, but apart from being the most technologically advanced games console on the market, it has the Blu-Ray player - Blu-Ray likely to be the winner of the High Def format war - also has the potential to be a media hub for your sitting room, with a hard drive and ability to download content from the Net.