According to MCV, Sony is in discussions with UK retailers to try & implement a pre-order payment scheme where you place a deposit of £150 & you should get a PS3 at launch.
In theory a store would get say 50 PS3s & the first 50 people that pay the deposit of £150 would get a [...]
"Pre-order a PS3 for £150 in the U.K.?" - 22.07.06