By Craig Zammit
SYDNEY: Overseas reports which suggest that the PlayStation 3 (PS3) will be delayed in PAL territories such Europe and potentially Australia are false according Sony Computer Entertainment who has confirmed that the PS3 will "definitely launch in March".
Sony Corp. chairman and CEO, Howard Stringer, recently commented to CNET News that the European PlayStation 3 launch was set for April. It is not clear if the comment was a mistake, but Current.com.au has received information contrary to the CNET report.
“We will definitely launch in March,” Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE) Australia and New Zealand managing director, Michael Ephraim told Current.com.au
“We will announce numbers and dates a bit later on, but be sure that [the launch] will happen in March.”
SCE plans to ship six million PS3 consoles before the end of its March 2007 financial year and Ephraim said that SCE Australia will “play [its] part in achieving those six million units.”
However, Ephraim also said that more stock shortages are likely to hit when Sony’s next generation gaming console reaches Australia.
“Yes there will be a stock shortage on launch, as there usually is with console launches, but we will do everything we can to bring stock in as quickly as possible in the subsequent weeks.
“It’s impossible to guess what the demand will be out there, so it’s hard to guarantee there will be stock in that launch period.
“[Stock shortages] happen every time there is a console launch — there’s always some kind of shortage. But we think now with the US and Japan launched and stabilising their markets, and Europe and Australia launching in March, Sony has had time to get their production in gear.”
Ephraim confirmed the Blu-ray diode issue, which caused previous PS3 delays, is “no longer a problem” and “has been corrected”.