PlayStation 3 launch
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The PlayStation 3 launch marked the second major seventh generation video game console to be released (the first being the Xbox 360). The PlayStation 3 was first released on 11 November 2006.
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[edit] History
[edit] Japan
The PlayStation 3 was launched in Japan on 11 November 2006 at 07:00. There were reports that many of the initial consoles were obtained by businessmen who paid mainly Chinese nationals to buy the console without any software to resell on eBay, as a result of this there were more hardware units sold than there were games, Ridge Racer 7 was the highest selling game on launch day. According to Media Create, 81,639 PS3 systems were sold in the 24-hours of its introduction in Japan. Sony has opted to go with an open pricing scheme for the 60 GB model, allowing retailers to set a price point themselves.
[edit] North America
The PlayStation 3 was launched in North America on 17 November 2006. Presales on eBay reached a high of just over US$3000 on November 17. During its first week of release in the United States, PlayStation 3s were being sold on eBay for more than $2300 USD the following day more than 20,000 units were posted on eBay, nearly all of them sold more than the retail price . Reports of violence surrounding the release of the PS3 include a customer shot, campers robbed at gunpoint, customers shot in a drive-by shooting with BB guns, and 60 campers fighting over 10 systems. Two GameStop employees fabricated a robbery to cover up their own theft of several PlayStation 3 and four Xbox 360 consoles. It was originally announced that there would be 400,000 units available however less than a week before launch reports emerged that Sony did not meet it's shipping quota in time resulting in about 40% of consoles not appearing on launch, it is not known exactly how many consoles were available on launch day.
As of January 16, nearly two months since the US launch, at least 1,000,000 consoles have been shipped to the US, and a further 1,000,000 have been shipped to Japan, plus more elsewhere in Asia.
[edit] North American launch titles
[edit] PAL regions
[edit] Europe
Sony announced on 6 September 2006 that the PAL (European and Australasian) launch had been delayed until March, 2007 due to a shortage of diodes used in the Blu-ray drive. At midnight on January 24, 2007, Sony announced that the Playstation 3 would go on sale on March 23, 2007 in Europe, Australia, the Middle East, Africa and New Zealand.
According to Financial Times, PS3 sold 600.000 units just in first two days[1] becoming the fastest selling console in United Kingdom with 165.000 units in first two days.[2][3]
Sony stated that there would be 1,000,000 PS3's in Europe for the launch period, including at least 220,000 in the UK.
The high launch price of the PS3 has been subjected to criticism from analysts, developers and consumers. Sony executive Phil Harrison has defended the price by citing its Blu-ray support and overall value. The production cost is estimated to be US$805.85 for the 20GB model and US$840.35 for the 60GB model.
SONY announced that first party games would retail for £40/€60.
After the violence that happened after the American launch, UK retailer GAME announced that it had canceled its midnight launch and instead would launch at seven in the morning, providing a small breakfast for all people in line. HMV also opened with a morning launch after following the advice of the police. However, Virgin Megastore went ahead with a midnight launch, allowing customers to stay inside the premises rather than braving it in the cold. Each customer who did turn up at the launch received a free 46 inch Sony Bravia to go with their PS3s. For an overview, check out the PS3 launch video at xleague.tv.
Despite that Sony had asked retailers to wait until 23 March to sell the PS3, Italian retailer Datel started selling the PS3 earlier. Datel said in an ad that they would start selling on Wednesday 21 March. Sony's reaction was: "Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is deeply disappointed by the unilateral decision of some Italian retail chains to commence the sale of PlayStation 3 to consumers before this official launch date."
[edit] Australia
The midnight launch of the Australian Playstation 3 console was considerably less impressive then expected by retailers and media alike. Media flocked to shopping centres and retailers expecting to catch a media extravaganza and flurry of activity as anticipated Playstation 3 gamers were to buy their consoles. However, very little in the way of such activity occurred.
Gamers and media arrived hours before the midnight launch period and were able to get front positions in what were small queues for the console. Several media outlets, including 2Day FM shamelessly asked the few gamers who did turn up to feign enthusiasm and excitement over the console, with a few media teams resorting to staging their own recordings. [1] [2]
[edit] Middle East
Sony Gulf announced that Jumbo Electronics and Carrefour stores in Mall of the Emirates will re-open their doors at midnight tonight to sell the first PlayStation®3 in the UAE.
The PS3 retailed for 2499DHS a price slightly less than Europe.
As an added incentive the first 100 customers who buy a PlayStation 3 will be also rewarded with a pair of tickets to see Shakira live in concert at the Dubai Autodrome this Friday[3]
[edit] Singapore
According to Gamexis, there will be Singaporean Official launch in March 2007, with the price of 60GB announced as S$799, without games. It is likely that Sony Singapore will sell it bundled with some games, so the price of S$1000 can be expected.
[edit] India
The PS3 goes on sale in India on 27 April 2007, priced at Rs 39,990 ($869) for the 60GB version. Games cost Rs 2799 (US$60.80). This has been confirmed by Sony stores in India.
[edit] PAL launch titles
- Def Jam: Icon
- Fight Night Round 3
- NBA Street: Homecourt
- Need for Speed Carbon
- The Godfather: The Don's Edition
- Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07
- Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom
- Formula One Championship Edition
- Genji: Days of the Blade
- MotorStorm
- Resistance: Fall of Man
- Ridge Racer 7
- Full Auto 2: Battlelines
- Sonic the Hedgehog
- Virtua Fighter 5
- Virtua Tennis 3
- World Snooker Championship 2007
- Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII
- Enchanted Arms
- Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas (Delayed)
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent (Delayed)
- The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion (Delayed)
- F.E.A.R. (Delayed)
[edit] Release data and pricing
| Region | Expected pricing at release | Accessories Pricing | Release Date | ||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Basic (20 GB) | Premium (60 GB) | SIXAXIS | Blu-ray Remote Control | Games | Memory Card Adaptor | ||||||||
| Local | US$ | Local | US$ | Local | US$ | Local | US$ | Local | US$ | Local | US$ | ||
 Japan |
JP¥49,980 | $420 | JP¥59,980 | $510 | JP¥5000 | $40 | JP¥3,600 | $ | JP¥Variable | $ | JP¥1,500 | $ | 11 November 2006 |
 United States |
US$499 | US$599 | US$49.99 | US$24.99 | US$59.99 | US$14.99 | 17 November 2006 | ||||||
 Canada |
C$549 | $480 | C$659 | $580 | C$59.99 | $51.82 | C$ | $ | C$ | $ | C$ | $ | 17 November 2006 |
 Hong Kong |
HKD$3,180 | $410 | HKD$3,780 | $490 | HKD$370 | $47 | HKD$ | $ | HKD$ | $ | HKD$ | $ | 17 November 2006 |
 Taiwan |
NT$14,980 | $450 | NT$17,980 | $540 | NT$ | $ | NT$ | $ | NT$ | $ | NT$ | $ | 17 November 2006 |
 United Kingdom |
TBC | GB£425†[4] | $835 | GB£35[5] | $69 | GB£18[6] | $35 | GB£40[7]/GB£50[8] | $ | GB£ | $ | 23 March 2007 | |
 Eurozone(excluding Ireland & Finland) |
€499 | $550 | €599 | $660 | € | $ | € | $ | € | $ | € | $ | 23 March 2007 |
 Denmark |
4295 DKK† | $720 | 5495 DKK† | $930 | DKK† | $ | DKK† | $ | DKK† | $ | DKK† | $ | 23 March 2007 |
 Finland |
€550 | $710 | €650 | $840 | € | $ | € | $ | € | $ | € | $ | 23 March 2007 |
 Norway |
TBC | 5995 NOK† | $960 | NOK† | $ | NOK† | $ | NOK† | $ | NOK† | $ | 23 March 2007 | |
 Sweden |
TBC | 5999 SEK† | $850 | SEK† | $ | SEK† | $ | SEK† | $ | SEK† | $ | 23 March 2007 | |
 Switzerland |
CHF 749 | $550 | CHF 899 | $660 | CHF | $ | CHF | $ | CHF | $ | CHF | $ | 23 March 2007 |
 Australia |
A$829 | $650 | A$999 | $780 | A$$79.99 | $ | A$ | $ | A$ | $ | A$ | $ | 23 March 2007 |
 New Zealand |
NZ$999† | $590 | NZ$1199.95† | $700 | NZ$99.95 | $69 | NZ$59.99 | $41 | NZ$109/129 | $75/88 | NZ$ | $ | 23 March 2007 |
 Singapore |
S$ | $ | S$799 | $520 | S$ | $ | S$ | $ | S$ | $ | S$ | $ | 7 March 2007 |
 Mexico |
Q1 2007 | ||||||||||||
 Indonesia |
IDR | $ | IDR7,000,000[4] | $771 | IDR600,000 | $67 | IDR | $ | IDR600,000 | $67 | IDR | $ | No Official Release |
[edit] References
- ^ Financial Times. Sony’s PS3 has record launch in Europe. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
- ^ GamesIndustry. PlayStation 3 becomes UK's fastest-selling home console. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
- ^ GameInformer. PS3 Launch Breaks UK Sales Record. Retrieved on April 2, 2007.
- ^ http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5683707/Trail/C%24cip%3D50626.Video%2Bgames%3EC%24cip%3D50646.Playstation%2B3.htm
- ^ http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5683783/Trail/C%24cip%3D50626.Video%2Bgames%3EC%24cip%3D50646.Playstation%2B3.htm
- ^ http://www.argos.co.uk/static/Product/partNumber/5683790/Trail/C%24cip%3D50626.Video%2Bgames%3EC%24cip%3D50646.Playstation%2B3%3EC%24cip%3D52651.Playstation%2B3%2BPeripherals.htm
- ^ http://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/feature.html/ref=amb_link_39091165_2/026-5578810-5676415?ie=UTF8&docId=1000046963
- ^ http://www.game.co.uk/browse.aspx?ref=topnav&cat=11482
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Consoles: PlayStation • PocketStation • PlayStation 2 • PSX • PlayStation Portable • PlayStation 3 |
