Red 320GB PS3 on sale 27 April, for £250

The PS3 will be available in a red version in just under two weeks, Joystiq reports. Previously the scarlet console was exclusive to Japan, but it'll be out in the UK in 12 days.

The 320GB console comes with a matching DualShock 3 control, and will go on sale at Amazon first. The stockist will sell it from 27 April for £250. But if you're prepared to wait you can save some money: Play.com will sell it for a tenner cheaper, though it won't have stock until 4 May. It all depends on how keen you are on getting your rose-tinted gaming action going, I suppose.

At the same time as the red version went on sale in Japan, a blue version popped up -- so we can expect that too, right? Well no, because that would mean us Brits were getting equal treatment to our Japanese cousins. The blue will stay Japan-only, for now anyway. But still, things could be worse. The US won't see the red version at all, so maybe we should feel privileged. It is the first time Sony has offered a coloured PS3 in an English-speaking region, after all.

A white PS3 Slim went on sale just before Christmas, but that was exclusively through GameStop, so doesn't really count. It's still on sale too, so looks like rumours of a limited run were unfounded. The white version comes with two DualShock pads, as opposed to the red which only comes with one. Two makes more sense to me, as if you've got a friend over for a game they're really going to mess up your colour scheme.

I'm tickled pink that the red version is finding its way to UK shores. It's a rare example of tech companies not giving us Brits short shrift, and hopefully a sign of more good things to come. Bravo, Sony. More of the same please. And everyone else take note.

Will you be buying a red PS3? Or would you rather the blue one? Let me know in the comments below, or on our Facebook page.