Sony at last enters 'complex' European market with PS3

After a series of delays, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) eventually has launched its much-anticipated next-generation game console, PlayStation 3 (PS3) in the Australian and New Zealand markets on March 23.

Unlike the US and Japanese launches five months earlier that were marked with riots and stock shortages, the Australian, New Zealand and European launches went comparatively smoothly, with a handful of die-hard gamers who made the midnight trip to pick up the new device.

In November, a Connecticut man was gunned down while waiting in line to pick up his PS3 on the day of the US launch. No such incidents were reported in recent releases.

At the London launch everyone who bought a PS3 also received a free 46-inch High Definition television (HDTV) and a taxi home. "I feel fantastic. I'm delighted that everyone here also gets a television," said 17-year-old Ritatsu Thomas, who was at the head of the queue. He said the freebies and PS3 had been worth the 36-hour wait.

Over 500 stores across Australia opened their doors at midnight to gaming enthusiasts eager to be the first to get their hands on Sony's next-generation game console.

As announced by the Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate in January, the PS3 is coming loaded with around 30 games, both full retail games and some that can be downloaded from Sony's online games store. The game titles include Resistance - Fall of Man, MotorStorm; Genji - Days of the Blade; Formula One Championship Edition and Ridge Racer 7, in addition to a selection of downloadable games, including Tekken - Dark Resurrection and Grand Turismo HD Concept.

Analysts believe that the PS3, which is the last of three new generation video game systems engaged in a gaming console war to grab the maximum market share, has to do a lot of work to carry the mantle of its respected predecessor, the7-year-old PlayStation 2 (PS2), and lag behind its arch rivals, Microsoft and Nintendo in the gaming consoles war.

Microsoft had launched its Xbox 360 in March last year, and has overall sold 5.1 million of its consoles, while Nintendo released its Wii console in December, and has yet to reach the 2-million mark for its gaming machine.

Despite the higher specifications of the PS3, the high price, the highest of any console, is a drawback that may diminish its sales in Europe.

The high-end model of PS3 with a 60 GB hard disk drive will cost 425 pounds ($836) in the U.K. and 599 euros ($776) in other European countries, while Australians will pay A$999.95 ($780) and New Zealanders NZ$1,199.95 ($840) for the machine with the most capacity.

The above mentioned prices are more than the $599 U.S. price and 59,980 yen ($497) in Japan for the large machines. The 20-gigabyte PlayStation 3 sells for $499 in the U.S.

Last September, Sony announced the delay of console’s European launch, shifting it to March from November due to a production glitch, relating to the Blu-ray player that is included in all PS3 models. The Blu-ray technology is intended for playing games and watching movies in high-definition format.

The launch in European risky market, which, according to Sony, is complex for distribution, will determine the fate of the revolutionary PS3 in its battle with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii.

"I think Europe is viewed by Microsoft and Sony as the most important territory," says Paul Jackson, video games analyst with Forrester Research.

"Microsoft is almost certainly going to win in the US and Sony is almost certainly going to win in Japan eventually, depending on whether the Wii's appeal as a novelty item is going to peter out. Europeans, however, are pretty agnostic and tend to buy whatever has the coolest games."