Sony's PS3 debut in the EU seems a bit weak...

[Captain Impulse]

...at least in Paris, anyway. (http://www.playfuls.com/news_06689_PS3s_French_Debut_A_Total_Disaster_95_o f_Consoles_Left_Unsold.html)

In other news, Sony gave away free LCD TVs (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6482789.stm) to the first 100 PS3 buyers at a store in London. Sounds to me like Sony's a little desperate to improve their image among fans.

[gryffinseye]

Well it doesn't help when the price is significantly higher than the price of the Japanese/US model, and for limited functionality compared to the JP/US models (biggest sticking point among PS2 and PS1 fans is the limited backwards compatibility with PS1 and PS2 games). Now while not everyone wants backwards compatibility to the PS2 (even fewer to the PS1), this was functionality they said they would have. They also said the PS3 would be released in Australia and Europe at the same time as the US and Japan, and delayed the EU/AU release until March 23. Then, they decide to pull some of the functionality out on top of that.

On the release date, I checked Play-Asia for their price on the Japanese PS3, and it was listed as A$750, $250 less than the AU launch price. Even with the A$90 shipping cost, I'm saving more than enough to buy a game locally for it. Add to that the fact that it would be Region A for Blu-ray (which means both Japanese and US BD discs would play without modding) and that it would as I understand it have full PS2 backwards compatibility and importing a PS3 sounds like a better option (save for the warranty).

Maybe the big wigs at Sony are still mad over the Sony vs. Stevens ruling by our High Court (Australia's equivalent of the US Supreme Court) on the legality of modchipping a couple of years back.

I was going to wait until the year's end to get one along with a HD TV, but I may wait longer to get the PS3. I was always planning to get a BD player when they become more affordable (and region-free) and there's enough available in BD that I want to buy. Realistically though, that's two to five years away.

[Pyocola]

Here's (http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2007/03/victory-in-europe-photographic.html) another funny "read" on the failed launch in the PAL countries.

[indigo0086]

Someone on a forum I frequent said that given the europeans luck the TVs were probably NTSC.

[lostnomad84]

It is interesting to read all the coverage, because while we all see that the launch events bombed, aside from the Virgin store handing out HDTVs and a sell out in one small European country, there are articles out there like this (http://kotaku.com/gaming/doom/ps3-breaks-sales-records-in-uk-247180.php) which claims the PS3 broke sales records for England. Now this leads to some assumptions 1) the console is popular and most people waited till the next day to get the console, 2) most people pre-ordered. I am not surprised that the console sold well. It happens during almost any launch.

But, now since the console is out in the wild, time will be the deciding factor wither or not the PS3 will start to follow the same path as it has in Japan and North America.

[gryffinseye]

Someone on a forum I frequent said that given the europeans luck the TVs were probably NTSC.


The article said they were GBP2500 HDTVs. That person has no idea what they're talking about. NTSC is a completely different TV format to HDTV, just like PAL is to NTSC.

[Ty]

Someone on a forum I frequent said that given the europeans luck the TVs were probably NTSC.


The article said they were GBP2500 HDTVs. That person has no idea what they're talking about. NTSC is a completely different TV format to HDTV, just like PAL is to NTSC.
According to Google GBP2500 doesn't exist as a Sony model, but I think what they got was the european equivalent of the V2500 series (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/EINTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDL46V2500&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_flatpanel_46to52) Bravia.

[gryffinseye]

Someone on a forum I frequent said that given the europeans luck the TVs were probably NTSC.


The article said they were GBP2500 HDTVs. That person has no idea what they're talking about. NTSC is a completely different TV format to HDTV, just like PAL is to NTSC.
According to Google GBP2500 doesn't exist as a Sony model, but I think what they got was the european equivalent of the V2500 series (http://www.sonystyle.com/is-bin/EINTERSHOP.enfinity/eCS/Store/en/-/USD/SY_DisplayProductInformation-Start?ProductSKU=KDL46V2500&Dept=tvvideo&CategoryName=tv_flatpanel_46to52) Bravia.

GBP2500 refers to the 2500 Great Britain Pounds that was mentioned as the price tag.

[Johnny]

Really? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6499841.stm). I said it ages ago and have been proven right so far - Europe is strictly Sony territory. This time next year the Wii will be forgotten and the 360 will be lagging behind again in this region. Trust me. Generation 6 all over again.

[indigo0086]

Someone on a forum I frequent said that given the europeans luck the TVs were probably NTSC.


The article said they were GBP2500 HDTVs. That person has no idea what they're talking about. NTSC is a completely different TV format to HDTV, just like PAL is to NTSC.

The guy was joking. He was saying how europe has had bad luck gaming wise, so it would be funny if they happened upon such a bizarre coincidence.

You had to be there.

[Skywise]

The big problem is that the US/JP PS3s don't support 50Hz for games and movies, so even though it's technically region free it still won't work with things you buy locally. Games would have to support 60hz, and same for the movies (whether blu-ray or dvd). At least according to the Sony rep I spoke to. If anyone can confirm otherwise I'd love to be proven wrong.

[lostnomad84]

Really? (http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/6499841.stm). I said it ages ago and have been proven right so far - Europe is strictly Sony territory. This time next year the Wii will be forgotten and the 360 will be lagging behind again in this region. Trust me. Generation 6 all over again.

Way too early to predict anything. One could argue the PS3 had the highest sales of a console launch simply because they had the highest number of consoles available. Unlike Microsoft or Nintendo, which had a limited number of units at launch and struggled to produce an adequate supply to meet demand (especially Nintendo right now). Also, you could argue Sony did not sell out at many stores, so that would show that Sony went above and beyond to oversupply the high demand (which I think is the case) or the demand is simply not as high as anticipated.

Best way to see if a company captured a region is through watching the sales over a period of one to two months. If the sales drop to the levels where they are in North America and Japan, then obviously the sales initially high due to a launch, then they dropped and flat-lined, which demonstrates the demand is low. However, if sales don't drop to the level seen in North America and Japan and stay rather high, then indeed the console is successful in Europe.

[ADC]

GBP2500 refers to the 2500 Great Britain Pounds that was mentioned as the price tag.
Sony's giving away £2500 ($4914) HDTVs? Fuck, man, I live in the wrong nation.

[Chris Beveridge]

I love that it's being called weak yet has had a better launch than either the 360 or the Wii in terms of units sold. I believe in terms of launches only the PSP has done better.

[Fieri]

GBP2500 refers to the 2500 Great Britain Pounds that was mentioned as the price tag.
Sony's giving away £2500 ($4914) HDTVs? Fuck, man, I live in the wrong nation.


No you don't.
US price ~ $600
GB price ~ $835 ;)

[indigo0086]

I love that it's being called weak yet has had a better launch than either the 360 or the Wii in terms of units sold. I believe in terms of launches only the PSP has done better.

And the psp is the epitome of handheld gaming right?

[ADC]

No you don't.
US price ~ $600
GB price ~ $835 ;)
I'll sell the UK PS3 for the US price, then get home and buy a US PS3 just like johnny — I want the $5000 HDTV (which probably costs no less than $3500 Stateside).

[Fieri]

I love that it's being called weak yet has had a better launch than either the 360 or the Wii in terms of units sold. I believe in terms of launches only the PSP has done better.

It's funny how having enough units on hand will enable you to sell more on launch day. ;)

[Fieri]

No you don't.
US price ~ $600
GB price ~ $835 ;)
I'll sell the UK PS3 for the US price, then get home and buy a US PS3 just like johnny — I want the $5000 HDTV (which probably costs no less than $3500 Stateside).

It looks like it was a surprise promotion done by Sony. Basically those that got the tv were really lucky. ;) They didn't know they were lining up to get a tv and a console. ;)

[ADC]

It looks like it was a surprise promotion done by Sony. Basically those that got the tv were really lucky. ;) They didn't know they were lining up to get a tv and a console. ;)
Sucks. But it's better than the value-add of buying a PS3 at launch in the States (beaten to a pulp by thugs with eBay accounts). ;)

[Chris Beveridge]

I love that it's being called weak yet has had a better launch than either the 360 or the Wii in terms of units sold. I believe in terms of launches only the PSP has done better.

And the psp is the epitome of handheld gaming right?

That isn't relevant to the discussion at hand. We're talking #'s, not perceived or actual quality. If sales are being called weak yet it's outselling every other console launch, where's the logic?

[Lego]

The PSP strikes me as something that wants to do everything but games.

"Hey!, you can play DVD's, look at pictures, listen to music, store photos of your friends, browse the web, and even emulate other consoles!"

"Yes, but can I play games on it?"

"Play games, why would you want to do that?"

[ape2020]

Well it seems there is a little cooling off of the PS3 in the UK after its record breaking launch.
UK sale of PS3 Fall 82% (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23977)

Still it selling.

-ape2020

[lostnomad84]

Well it seems there is a little cooling off of the PS3 in the UK after its record breaking launch.
UK sale of PS3 Fall 82% (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23977)

Still it selling.

-ape2020

Not too surprising sales dropped, but definitely a very hard drop. Give it a few more weeks and we can definitely know the trend of how the PS3 is performing in the UK overall.

[shynra]

Well for me i was pretty open to the PS3... but after seeing it in action for the past half a year @_@; talk about dissapointment. Its is more powerfull than the 360 but not significantly and with the unbeatable xbox live im off to by a 360 in the near future...

Oh everyone should check out this site for a little laugh -> Europe At War!!! (http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/)

[Captain Impulse]

Well it seems there is a little cooling off of the PS3 in the UK after its record breaking launch.
UK sale of PS3 Fall 82% (http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=23977)

Still it selling.

-ape2020

The UK market is only so big, and unlike other regions, apparently there were enough consoles to meet the demand up front. The remainder of sales of the PS3 will come at trickle speed.

[Lego]

It does make sense that after having a launch day that sales would go down. The sticking point for the "Zomg news" is that huge 82% number though and thats why it gets so much play.

[Captain Impulse]

It does make sense that after having a launch day that sales would go down. The sticking point for the "Zomg news" is that huge 82% number though and thats why it gets so much play.

Saturating the market with PS3's is what set this up. Had there been an excess of Wii's and 360s in the UK we would have seen the same sales figures plummet for them as well. The problem for Sony is the demand for their system is far less than the others, so having a major slump so early indicates a grim future compared to other consoles.

[Lego]

If Sony was smart they would of moved those PS3's to get ready for the US launch. The US launch was the most hectic out of the three. You literally had a bunch of people lining up for one either to sell it on Ebay or to buy it for themselves. It's really starting to look like that Sony had big problems manufacturing enough for the early launches and now, as you said, are saturated with a huge number of units with no buyers.

[shynra]

The falloff has been pretty bad, it was a superb start to the PS3 with pleanty of stock and getting the biggest lauch ever but the figures from chart track are...

Launch - 165,000
Week 2 - 28,000
Week 3 - 17,000

With the PS3 still in stock everywhere.

If you have picked up a PS3 id have to say VF5 is my pick of the bunch, darn good

[Greywing]

The falloff has been pretty bad, it was a superb start to the PS3 with pleanty of stock and getting the biggest lauch ever but the figures from chart track are...

Launch - 165,000
Week 2 - 28,000
Week 3 - 17,000

With the PS3 still in stock everywhere.

If you have picked up a PS3 id have to say VF5 is my pick of the bunch, darn good

It's also worth noting that a lot of places have started offering student discount or trade in bonuses just to get people to take PS3s off their hands. Having worked in games retail for about 4 years up to 2004 at GAME and HMV, I can say that student discount has NEVER been offered on hardware before. Seems pretty dire if retailers have had to resort to that to get shot of the machines.

[Skywise]

Well with the price they're trying to sell it for and the launch it's really no surprise. I think a lot of the hard core people serious about gaming already bought US or JP PS3s, since even with shipping and customs it wouldn't cost much more than a euro one.

[lostnomad84]

The falloff has been pretty bad, it was a superb start to the PS3 with pleanty of stock and getting the biggest lauch ever but the figures from chart track are...

Launch - 165,000
Week 2 - 28,000
Week 3 - 17,000

With the PS3 still in stock everywhere.

If you have picked up a PS3 id have to say VF5 is my pick of the bunch, darn good

It's also worth noting that a lot of places have started offering student discount or trade in bonuses just to get people to take PS3s off their hands. Having worked in games retail for about 4 years up to 2004 at GAME and HMV, I can say that student discount has NEVER been offered on hardware before. Seems pretty dire if retailers have had to resort to that to get shot of the machines.

I wish we had that option out here. It might motivate a good number of college students with old PS2's to trade them in and get a student discount.

But out here, they are easy to find now. Usually I can walk into a store and find 3 on the shelf (or in the case of Best Buy, a note saying they have them in stock), full accessories, and every game you can think of. Yet, all I hear people talk about is the Wii, ask how you can find one, etc... People just refer how to the PS3 is too expensive and they just have no interest in it.

[gryffinseye]

Well with the price they're trying to sell it for and the launch it's really no surprise. I think a lot of the hard core people serious about gaming already bought US or JP PS3s, since even with shipping and customs it wouldn't cost much more than a euro one.

The Australian PS3 is in the same boat - A$1000 (US$830 on current exchange rates), whereas I could buy a Japanese PS3 through Play-Asia.com for A$750 + A$90 shipping and save A$160. Since the limit on customs-free personal imports in Australia is A$1000, I don't have to worry about customs duty either. Add the fact that I get a Region A Blu-Ray player with that and it makes sense (although in Australia B-R standalone players will likely be region-free anyway). The only downsides are warranty and (if what I heard is correct) that the JP PS3s now have the same backwards compatibility setup as the EU/AU versions.

[Skywise]

The only downsides are warranty and (if what I heard is correct) that the JP PS3s now have the same backwards compatibility setup as the EU/AU versions.

Damn. Do you know of any source that can corroborate that? I may have to get a PS3 sooner than I would like if that's true *sigh*.

EDIT: Also looks like they're now 110V models only as well. That's kind of a downer.

EDIT2: play-asia doesn't ship PS3s to Norway now for some reason.. wtf is up with that?!

[gryffinseye]

Damn. Do you know of any source that can corroborate that? I may have to get a PS3 sooner than I would like if that's true *sigh*.

Unfortunately, I can't quote anything to corroborate that. I was at the local convention here in Brisbane yesterday (played the MS Gundam game on the PS3 there ^^), and ran into an acquaintance who told me as much.

Play-Asia.com's PS3 product page (http://www.play-asia.com/paOS-13-71-bo-49-en-70-p62.html) suggests that the console is fully capable of playing Region NTSC-J PS1 and PS2 games (in that it doesn't mention there's any limitations on this). One reviewer in the UK mentions they've not had a problem playing their Japanese PS1/PS2 games on an imported console, and that was dated 30th March - which was right after the EU and AU release date for the PS3, in any case you can't be sure on their reliability - might be worth asking Play-Asia or checking around on some forums.

[Johnny]

The only downsides are warranty and (if what I heard is correct) that the JP PS3s now have the same backwards compatibility setup as the EU/AU versions.
a
Damn. Do you know of any source that can corroborate that? I may have to get a PS3 sooner than I would like if that's true *sigh*.

EDIT: Also looks like they're now 110V models only as well. That's kind of downer.

EDIT2: play-asia doesn't ship PS3s to Norway now for some reason.. wtf is up with that?!

AFAIK the removal of the Emotion Engine PS2 chip hasn't started in US/JP PS3's as of yet. They (Sony) have mentioned it will happen but chances are if you were to order a Japanese one now it would be one of the launch window batch.

Can't clarify the 110v thing but all PS3s still have a multi-region power output (110v/220v) as far as I'm aware.

Playasia have just extended their non-shipment of PS3/PSP hard and software to include all of Europe now.
Not sure why as they still freely ship PS1/PS2 hard and software here.

Try NCSX or eBay for a Japanese PS3. Or you could try the reborn Lik-Sang.

[Skywise]

I don't understand them extending it to all of Europe, never mind Norway as we're not part of the EU and thus not subject to those silly regulations. :roll:

ebay might work, but I'd rather not use NCSX - they totally rape you on both shipping and price. Regardless of what they claim $759 for a JP console is not a "sale" price. What's this about reborn liksang?

[Johnny]

What's this about reborn liksang?

Baozon (http://www.baozon.com). Apparently a lot of people who were on Lik-Sangs mailing list got an email from this company and weren't registered to any other HK gaming sites mailing list so presumed it had something to do with LS. Someone mentioned that the addresses are similar to LS HQ or warehouse or something too.

They haven't ever stated they have any connections to Lik-Sang but they've started from scratch before so they could well have some link.

You mentioned not wanting to pay over the odds at NCSX. You could always keep an eye on the sale forum at NTSC-UK (http://www.ntsc-uk.com). A good few Japanese PS3s have been sold there over the past few months for £350-£400 (well under the UK RRP of £425).

[Skywise]

Thanks - I'll have to see what I end up doing.

[Buster Darkwings]

I can pick you up one at retail (I think they're still widely available), Akihabara is on the way home from work.

[Skywise]

Thanks, I'll keep that in mind. I originally wasn't planning on getting a PS3 this early, and I still might hold off on getting one and wait for a price drop instead. My current PS2 is modded so I can play JP games on that for a long while still.