European Playstation 3 Launch Countdown:

[Zenien]

PLAYSTATION 3

EURO LAUNCH

COUNTDOWN​

​

STRICTLY EMBARGOED UNTIL MIDNIGHT WEDNESDAY 24th JANUARY GMT


PS3 to Launch in UK on 23rd March 2007
Over 30 Titles for Launch Period
1 Million units forecast for Initial European Launch Period

London, 24 January 2007 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced that PLAYSTATION®3 will be launched in the PAL territories including the United Kingdom on 23rd March 2007 at a price of £425.

Responding to retail and consumer demand, SCEE confirmed that initially only the 60GB model would be available, with the 20GB model to follow later in the year dependent on demand.

An expected one million PS3 units will be made available during the initial launch period to all SCEE territories.

SCEE also announced a stellar launch line-up of over 30 game titles for PS3, including eagerly awaited titles published by SCEE such as Resistance: Fall of Man™, MotorStorm™, Genji™: Days of the Blade, FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION and Ridge Racer™ 7. An exceptional range of titles in every genre will also be available at launch from the world’s leading third party publishers, including Electronic Arts, Activision, Namco Bandai, Sega, Take 2, Ubisoft, Vivendi Universal, and Sony Online Entertainment.

In addition to games on disc, an exciting range of fully-featured downloadable games
will debut on the PLAYSTATION®Network. These will include gaming icons such as Tekken®: Dark Resurrection and Gran Turismo® HD Concept; the fully-featured PS3 debut of the best-selling franchise Gran Turismo, realised with full HD (1080p) visual quality. Created by Polyphony Digital Inc and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, Gran Turismo® HD Concept has been downloaded by more than 350,000 users since it was released in December 2006 in North America and Japan.

Also available on the PLAYSTATION®Network will be brainteasers such as Go! Sudoku and Go! Puzzle, and innovative games such as Blast Factor™ and flOw™, designed exclusively for PLAYSTATION 3 and delivering on the promise to provide original content created by non-traditional developers and publishers.

Concurrent with the European launch, a new System Update to further enhance the entertainment potential of PS3 will be issued.

Announcing the launch details, Ray Maguire, SVP and MD of SCEUK said, “Following the hugely successful launches of PS3 in Japan and North America, we are absolutely delighted to be able to bring significant numbers of PS3 to the UK. To be able to launch with over 30 titles including retail versions and great downloadable gaming experiences across every genre shows that this is our strongest launch line-up in the history of PlayStation, and is what PlayStation fans in the UK have been crying out for.”

• PLAYSTATION 3 LAUNCH TITLE LINE-UP

Resistance: Fall of Man™ - SCEE - Disc
MotorStorm- SCEE - Disc
Genji™: Days of the Blade - SCEE - Disc
FORMULA ONE CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION - SCEE - Disc
Ridge Racer™ 7 - SCEE - Disc
Tekken®: Dark Resurrection - SCEE - Network
Lemmings™ - SCEE - Network
Go! Sudoku - SCEE - Network
Go! Puzzle - SCEE - Network
Blast Factor™ - SCEE - Network
flOw™ - SCEE - Network
Super Rub’a'Dub - SCEE - Network
Call of Duty 3 - Activision UK Ltd - Disc
Marvel: Ultimate Alliance - Activision UK Ltd - Disc
Tony Hawk’s Project 8 - Activision UK Ltd - Disc
Gundam – Target in Sight - Namco Bandai Games - Disc
Full Auto™ 2: Battle Lines - Sega®Europe Ltd - Disc
Sonic the Hedgehog™ - Sega®Europe Ltd - Disc
Virtua Fighter™ 5 - Sega®Europe Ltd - Disc
Virtua Tennis™ 3 - Sega®Europe Ltd - DiscWorld Snooker Championship 2007 - Sega®Europe Ltd - Disc
NBA 2K7 - Take 2 International SA - Disc
NHL 2K7 - Take 2 International SA - Disc
Blazing Angels Squadrons of WWll- Ubisoft Entertainment SA - Disc
Enchanted Arms - Ubisoft Entertainment SA - Disc
Tom Clancy’s Splinter Cell: Double Agent - Ubisoft Entertainment SA - Disc
The Elder Scrolls lV: Oblivion - Ubisoft Entertainment SA - Disc
Def Jam: Icon - Electronic Arts Ltd - Disc
Fight Night Round 3 - Electronic Arts Ltd - Disc
NBA Street 4 Homecourt 2007 - Electronic Arts Ltd - Disc
Need for Speed Carbon - Electronic Arts Ltd - Disc
The Godfather: The Don’s Edition - Electronic Arts Ltd - Disc
Tiger Woods PGA Tour 2007 - Electronic Arts Ltd - Disc
Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom - Electronic Arts Ltd - Disc
F.E.A.R. Vivendi - Universal Games Intl SA - Disc
Gripshift - Sony Online Entertainment - Network


PLAYSTATION 3 Peripherals Available at Launch

Peripheral - RRP in £ Sterling

SIXAXIS™ Wireless Controller - £34.99
Blu-ray Disc Remote Control - £17.99
HDMI Cable - £17.99
AV cable - £17.99
Component AV cable - £17.99
S Video cable - £12.99

 

[Electro UK]

Cannot WAIT. My official launch line up is Resistance, Motorstorm and F.E.A.R.

I'm going to get alot fatter starting next weekend.

Btw, what's with the red over some games?

 

[Avalanche]

Just saw an advertisement for Motorstorm during the Melbourne Forumla One over here in the UK. They didn't use proper game footage though, annoyingly, given the game looks damned good anyway.

The red is over the games worth owning I'm guessing. Resistance should be red too, but Z has missed the closed bracket of the code.

 

[Kritish]

You guys still don't have the PS3?

 

[BatMatt]

You guys still don't have the PS3?

Their's ship the 23rd

 

[Kritish]

There's ship the 23rd

Why does Europe always get screwed over when it comes to consoles? It isn't like people over there can't afford it.

 

[A.J.Rimmer(BSC)]

My balls are getting all tingly, but I can't afford any games yet.

 

[Avalanche]

Has anyone over here saw advertisements for anything other than Motorstorm? So far, all I've seen is Motorstorm. Not a snippet on Resistance.

 

[Electro UK]

Nope, not seen either.

What I have see however isthe this is living ad. Bloody odd.

 

[Zenien]

Don't you Europeans love that sort of stuff.

 

[A.J.Rimmer(BSC)]

Has anyone over here saw advertisements for anything other than Motorstorm? So far, all I've seen is Motorstorm. Not a snippet on Resistance.

Well I went to watch Premonition yesterday, and there were two trailers (identical) for Resistance, but other than in the cinema, I've only seen Motorstorm.

Dissappointing, SONY seems to be relying on reputation (*snicker*) rather than quality marketing.

 

[A.J.Rimmer(BSC)]

Don't you Europeans love that sort of stuff.

Europeans enjoy the best and most imaginative adverts in the world.

Much better than the US: BUY THIS NOW! ITS CHEAPER THAN THE OTHER BRAND! COOL! AWESOME!

However, the new advert teeters on the edge of self indulgence and pointlessness.

 

[The Guardian]

SOMEWHAT GOOD NEWS FOR EUROPE, ENJOY GUYS!!!


72% of PS2 Games Work on EU PS3s
Sony reveals that 1,782 titles are compatible at launch after firmware update.
by Rob Burman, IGN UK

UK, March 20, 2007 - Sony has confirmed that 72% of all PAL PS2 titles will run on PlayStation 3 from day one, despite changes to the hardware that made many think the number of backwards compatible titles would be much less.

A new firmware update - v1.6 - enables new owners of the console to play 1,782 of the 2,451 titles available for EU PlayStation 2s. The download will be available via the PlayStation Network from 12am on Friday or, if you don't have an internet connection (how are you reading this then?), on a disc available from Sony customer services.

Ahead of the European release Sony has launched a new website that highlights exactly which PS2 and PSone titles are compatible. Of the top 25 PS2 games of all time recently compiled by IGN, 17 are currently playable on Euro PS3s.

Even then, some of the games that are compatible may not run 100% properly. For example, according to Sony, games such as Kingdom Hearts and Twisted Metal Black run with "noticeable issues", although it's not currently known what the problems might be. However, Sony does offer advice to reduce the potential problems, by disconnecting non-essential USB peripherals, avoiding the use of 60Hz mode, skipping optional FMV sequences and limiting the number of non-network players to seven.

David Reeves, president of Sony Computer Entertainment Europe, said that engineers had been working overtime to ensure PS3 delivered a "significant number of playable PS2 titles for the European launch".

However, while Sony is continually working to improve backwards compatibility, Reeves also added: "We will be adding additional titles to this list in future firmware upgrades, but as we have made clear before, in the future our resources will be increasingly focused on developing new services and entertainment features exclusively for PS3, rather than on delivering PS2 backwards compatibility."

 

[Avalanche]

The PS3, the controller, and Resistance and Motorstorm are consistently at the top of Amazon.co.uk's top chart. Clearly the price isn't putting off too many Europeans.

 

[Zenien]

75 percent of PS2 titles will work on day 1

the early launch of its compatibility site reveals that 1,782 of the 2,451 PS2 titles (in the SCEE region) available will work on your PS3
http://threespeech.com/blog/?p=346
http://www.scee.presscentre.com/Content/Detail.asp?ReleaseID=4341&NewsAreaID=2

 

[JM0087]

Software emulation.
Does that mean ps2 games can be play in HD?

 

[BatMatt]

Software emulation.
Does that mean ps2 games can be play in HD?

no, although that is a possibility in the future

 

[imdaly]

Seven PS3 titles delayed from Euro launch, 27 still left

This is a real killjoy. Aside from a number of PS-Store titles that won't come out until shortly after launch, Sony has announced a good number of PS3 titles that are getting the big delay. Seven in total, they will be sorely missed for at most, a month. Here's the updated delay list, along with their new estimated arrival dates:

* Splinter Cell: Double Agent -- March 30th
* NBA 2k7 -- April 6th
* F.E.A.R. -- April 20th
* Oblivion -- April 27th
* Untold Legends -- April 27th
* GRAW 2 -- June ??th
* Rainbow Six: Vegas -- Spring '07


Lots of shooters getting delayed. Lots. To be fair, if you love shooters that much, you've probably got the titles for the 360 anyway. Sony isn't exactly the first choice for the shooter audience. It's true! We're not being rude, it's just a fact. People would sooner go to the PC or 360 for shooters, not a Sony console. Agreed? Disagreed?

Source

 

[Avalanche]

Some of those titles have probably been staggered for a reason. Bump them back a few weeks when there is less in the way of competition.

 

[TheGrayGhost]

http://news.punchjump.com/article.php?id=3932

Obviously it's WAY TOO early to tell, but it's not looking good. And I'm not bagging on the PS3, but Sony's downward spiral is fascinating to observe from a business standpoint.

 

[BatMatt]

If I'm not mistaken the UK is five hours ahead of me here on the East Coast which means they launch in twenty minutes.

 

[imdaly]

http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2007/03/reporting-live-from-ps3-launch-event.html

 

[BatMatt]

http://www.ukresistance.co.uk/2007/03/reporting-live-from-ps3-launch-event.html

No bias in that website

 

[imdaly]

No bias in that website

Yeah, I guess the cameramen angled the pictures cleverly so that you couldn't see the 200 people standing behind him in the corner for some reason.

How about this, then?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/games/playstation-launch-is-a-muted-affair/2007/03/23/1174153291466.html

http://www.t3.co.uk/news/247/games/playstation_2/short_wait_in_ps3_queue


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6474045.stm

At the London launch everyone who bought a PS3 also received a free 46-inch HD television and a taxi home.

Geezy, they need to give away a big screen HDTV and a taxi ride in order to sell this thing?!?




Or how about Australia's launch?

http://kotaku.com/gaming/ps3-launch/australian-ps3-launch-shindig-246437.php

http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11813/Australian_PS3_Launch_Impressions.html

http://www.angry-gamer.net/ag/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=450&Itemid=2

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=15339

 

[BatMatt]

Yeah, I guess the cameramen angled the pictures cleverly so that you couldn't see the 200 people standing behind him in the corner for some reason.

How about this, then?

http://www.smh.com.au/news/games/playstation-launch-is-a-muted-affair/2007/03/23/1174153291466.html

http://www.t3.co.uk/news/247/games/playstation_2/short_wait_in_ps3_queue


http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6474045.stm


Geezy, they need to give away a big screen HDTV and a taxi ride in order to sell this thing?!?




Or how about Australia's launch?

http://kotaku.com/gaming/ps3-launch/australian-ps3-launch-shindig-246437.php

http://www.gwn.com/news/story.php/id/11813/Australian_PS3_Launch_Impressions.html

http://www.angry-gamer.net/ag/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=450&Itemid=2

http://www.maxconsole.net/?mode=news&newsid=15339

By bias I meant that if one store in England had some long lines, do you think it would show up there? BBC is much better, so there you go. This doesn't really surprise me, if preorders were still available why show up to midnight to pick up your system when you could do it at a normal time during the day