Playstation 3 launch dates now official

WE HAVE RECEIVED confirmation from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe that the Playstation 3 will be launched on the predicted date of 23rd March this year.

The PS3 will be launched in the PAL territories of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia on the fourth Friday in March at a price of £425 (599 Euros, $999.95 AUD, $1199.95 NZ in the respective countries).

Allegedly 'responding to retail and consumer demand', SCEE confirmed that initially only the more expensive 60GB model of the Playstation 3 would be available on launch, with the 20GB model to follow later in the year but this is 'dependent on demand'.

An expected one million consoles will be made available during the initial launch period, but considering the complete mess Sony made of the US and Japanese launches, you expect this figure to fluctuate massively. Maybe the over abundance of stock currently in the US will help.

The launch line-up consists of the following titles:
Resistance: Fall of Man, MotorStorm, Genji: Days of the Blade, Formula One Championship Edition, Ridge Racer 7, Call of Duty 3, Marvel: Ultimate Alliance, Tony Hawks Project 8,Gundam - Target in Sight, Full Auto 2: Battle Lines, Sonic the HedgehogVirtua Fighter 5, Virtua Tennis 3, World Snooker Championship 2007, NBA 2K7, NHL 2K7, Blazing Angels, Squadrons of WWll, Enchanted Arms, Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent, The Elder Scrolls lV: Oblivion, Def Jam: Icon, Fight Night Round 3, NBA Street 4 Homecourt 2007, Need for Speed Carbon, The Godfather: The Don's Edition, Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007, Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom, F.E.A.R.

Immediately available online, after you've downloaded the compulsary update which will be made available on the European launch, are the following titles:
Gripshift, Tekken: Dark Resurrection, Lemmings, Go! Sudoku, Go! Puzzle, Blast Factor, flOw, Super Rub'a'Dub.

The PS3 will also ship with the usual deluge of peripherals including:
SIXAXIS Wireless Controller - EURO 49.99, Blu-ray Disc Remote Control - EURO 24.99, HDMI Cable - EURO 24.99, AV cable - EURO 16.99, Component AV cable - EURO 24.99, S Video cable - EURO 16.99.

Good luck in getting a PS3 on launch. Game sites started taking pre-orders around 18 months ago, so expect to be rummaging around another Amazon fire sale and your local Woolies, considering the 1 million units seem to be split over all PAL territories. µ

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