PS3 launch in Europe possibly delayed further

[London Geezer]

I understand and mostly agree.

I also have been ranting about how us Europeans practically subsidise the rest of the world's low prices, and these days i just don't have the energy anymore!

Me too, i'll be one of the later-adopters, when the time is right and the money is right, i'll get one.

And for me, that means that if i buy a console, it will have to be PS3 as the games i'd want to play will be on it.

To be honest i don't feel forced to buy a console, i completely skipped the 32-bit generation and i will have no problem skipping the PS3 generation if i don't feel like i will gain anything from it. I had a Commodore 64, a Genesis, then went PC for a bit, then i got a PS2, then PC again... and now we'll see what happens...

One thing is for sure, my financial situation will have to change a lot for me to get a HDTV and a PS3 any time soon!!

 

[Rolf N]

Has anyone from Europe on this board changed their mind about buying a PS3 because of the way Sony has treated the region? It seems a lot of you are pissed about being treated like a foregone conclusion by Sony but i dont recall anyone saying they'll forego a PS3 because of it.

Maybe a poll....

I still want one for myself, but yeah, of course I'm pissed off.
Some of my "business related" plans needed to be changed, but I'm not sure I want to talk about that here in detail. Let me just say that if you want to do something unique on the web, it helps to be (one of the) first to do it. Whatever that may be, there's going to be a four month headstart for the US of A and Japan to cut me out of my niche before I can even get started. Bummer.

As for launch games, I'm interested in Resistance mostly atm. And I'm looking forward to White Knight Story, whenever that comes out. The one good thing about the delay is thise: if we're quizzed about our most wanted games again in February, we'll have a much better software lineup to make our picks, and also a much better idea of how worthwhile the inital launch titles really are.

To get real for a minute, I really really have enough games flying about to tide me over until March. I'll probably spend most of the time churning through my significant backlog of PS2/PSX and PC games. I still haven't played Vagrant Story for crying out loud, or Wheel Of Time, and I haven't finished Fallout Tactics either. I'm actually just playing Vampire: Bloodlines for the first time and having a blast. And then there'll be the Wii, which I fully intend to buy on the first day. And the DS lies there and stares at me in sad silence. There's enough gaming in my life.

What interests me about the PS3 is not only the gaming aspect. I just want to explore it. Maybe it's something like the next Amiga. Maybe I'll end up using it for many of the things I currently use the PC for. I just want to have it and find out.

 

[Sankari]

Learn what? It was delayed for something like a year IIRC, and is still selling pretty well. If you have a product people want, they'll buy it. If you are 'late' getting them that product, they'll still buy it. The only way that isn't going to work out is if there's a rival product that wins them over during the delay. That wasn't true for PSP. It's debatable if that's the case for PS3 (as in how many intending to buy PS3 see XB360 or Wii as alternatives?).

It was delayed and sold nicely at first like any new product that hits the market and has a brand name. Everyone knew PSP was the sony handheld, everyone was excited about it, until the delays hit the consumers in the face. DS slaughtered it not too long after its launch and its still slaughtering it and its not going to change. It wasn't my problem because I didn't care about handhelds and I don't really give a damn about them still. Metal gear portable Ops seems like a very good game however and it has made me think about getting PSP but don't think I will. Now that being said, I DO however care about the PS3. There is however a certain limit to each human how much s*it they can take. I am really getting sick and tired of Sony shoveling theyrs on European consumers. I'm really starting to think Sony should lose this generation so they would learn from theyr mistakes.

Now if they would lose the exclusivity of MGS4, I'd be right there with another console. Screw PS3 if this keeps up. However, since this is just a random rumor and probably has no base, I don't really believe this. But if it happens, I might give up on PS3 completely.

 

[macabre]

I´m in a similar situation like london-boy. I work in the printing industry and my employer is not in healthy financial condition. So in the past 3-4 years I`ve been missing a lot of the bonus payments and stuff. I even had to lend the company 7% of my wages for 6 months.
They promised to pay it back at the end of the year though so I might get me the HDTV and PS3 by march. If I had enough money and a HDTV ready waiting for a PS3 being hooked up, I`d probably be more pissed about the delay - but so the time is about right for me.

 

[Shifty Geezer]

It was delayed and sold nicely at first like any new product that hits the market and has a brand name. Everyone knew PSP was the sony handheld, everyone was excited about it, until the delays hit the consumers in the face. DS slaughtered it not too long after its launch and its still slaughtering it and its not going to change.

And you think if PSP hadn't of been delayed, DS wouldn't be outselling it as well as it is? How do you apply that logic to Japan and the US where PSP wasn't delayed and is still being outsold by DS?

Sales of PSP and DS have nothing at all to do with launch delays. They're to do with what the products offer the consumers, and what the consumers are after. DS fits the masses' interests and pockets more effectively than PSP (although as has been mentioned whenever PSP sales some up, it's not like it's selling badly! It's outsold the GC's 5 year user base for goodness sakes! And it's more expensive than the GC was. Just because it's not selling as fast as DS, doesn't mean it's not satisfying a market, turning Sony a profit, etc.)

People buy a product for what it is, what it offers them, and not on account of when it's launched. If delays turn people off, the european software market would be non-existent!

 

[rabidrabbit]

If it's true, then it might just mean they are getting those blue laser dildoes right.

A freudian slip, or something you'd want for Christmas instead of PS3?

 

[Inane_Dork]

Doesn't mean they were right on a technical level, they just bullshitted enough to score a hit on random luck.

Shouldn't that be "bullshat"?


Anyway, Sony has plenty of time to announce a (further) delay. I wouldn't expect to hear it until it's painfully obvious they're not producing as many PS3s as they predict. But maybe that's just my pessimism.

 

[Bad_Boy]

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=68670

Sony has told GamesIndustry.biz that reports the PlayStation 3 could be delayed in Europe until May next year are "categorically not true."

The rumours emerged after Spanish gaming site Meristation claimed Ken Kutaragi had warned that there could be a shortage of PS3 stock in Japan and North America - leaving European consumers with an even longer wait.

But according to a Sony spokesperson, "Any reports of a further delay to the launch of the PS3 in Europe are categorically not true.

"We are still fully committed to a March 2007 launch date. Ken Kutaragi has not done any media briefings since the Tokyo Game Show, and the story is not true."

The PlayStation 3 was originally due to launch this November in Japan, the US and Europe, but last month Sony announced that the machine won't arrive here until March. The company plans to ship 6 million PS3 units globally by the end of the 2007 fiscal year.

 

[liolio]

Bad_Boy I've seen exactly the same quote at gameindustry.

For me the more important part is

The company plans to ship 6 million PS3 units globally by the end of the 2007 fiscal year.

Typo?? bad news?? communication error??

 

[slider]

Best to adopt a wait and see approach I think. Cos Sony have officially stated a few things that haven't turned out to be the case.

My mind is made up. I'm prepared to make do til March with Bad_Boy et al telling us how much he's enjoying the system.

 

[liolio]

I'm not wrong, end of 2007 fiscal year is march 2008, it MUST be a typo, I can't think otherwize.

 

[London Geezer]

Bad_Boy I've seen exactly the same quote at gameindustry.

For me the more important part is
Typo?? bad news?? communication error??

End of Financial Year for Sony is March.

 

[NavNucST3]

And having "demo units" in the shops for a whole 6 months, without releasing the thing wouldn't "tick 90% of the people off"? No, it would tick 100% of them off!!

Really, your posts get more and more bizzarre by the day.

The real issue would be with publishers, they would be more than upset.

 

[slider]

Surely some mistake?

6 million units by March 2008 isn't enough!

 

[liolio]

I've seen the same news on eurogamer and gameindustry, word for word.
I think it's a typo nobody have noticed so far

 

[London Geezer]

Heh, it can be a typo or it can jus be about what they call "financial year 07". My company is already in Financial Year 07 (Actually 06/07), so our FY 0607 End will be June 07. Not June 08.

Dunno... I just think that if Sony were to announce in public that they are shipping 6M units between now and March 08, we would have seen it everywhere.

Their plan has always been to ship 6M by March 07 so that plan is what the article is referring to. If Sony changed their plan, we would have heard it, especially as this would be HUGE news.

 

[liolio]

thank you london boy.so end of fiscal year 2006 is march 2006 and so end of the fiscal year 2007 is march 2007 . I was thinking end of fiscal year 2006 is march 2007... my fault.
So it make sense, anyway I've learned something

 

[Shifty Geezer]

thank you london boy.so end of fiscal year 2006 is march 2006 and so end of the fiscal year 2007 is march 2007 . I was thinking end of fiscal year 2006 is march 2007... my fault.

Or it was mis-reporting in that the journalist was thinking 'financial year ending March next year will be FY07' whereas for Sony's books, that's end of FY06. Either way, there's no reason to think Sony have changed from 6 million by March in 2007 to 6 million by March in 2008!

 

[London Geezer]

Or it was mis-reporting in that the journalist was thinking 'financial year ending March next year will be FY07' whereas for Sony's books, that's end of FY06. Either way, there's no reason to think Sony have changed from 6 million by March in 2007 to 6 million by March in 2008!

I think the main point here is that the intarweb would have exploded if Sony said anything about releasing 6M units in the next year and a half instead of the planned 6 months they said it would take.

Really. We would get Intardent Not Accessible error messages for a couple of hours.

 

[crosseye]

While you could never take Sony's word on a delay (remember, these are the guys that said it will have a worldwide launch in Spring of '06 all the way until the last minute) this just doesn't seem right. They've just begun producing systems and you tend to increase your production numbers as time goes. They could make a measily 60k a month dedicated for Europe from here to March and still at least have a launch there.