David Reeves, CEO of Sony Europe, has reportedly told trade magazine MVC, via C&VG, that the first PS3s off the production line will be Pal:

“I hope we will be day and date with [the] US and I hope that we’ll get the same quantities as US as well. I don’t think we’ll be disadvantaged. In fact I believe the first PS3s being manufactured are being made for Europe - which is a first.”

I will be very surprised if Europe gets the same amount of units as the US. Even if we do however that won’t guarantee many available at launch:

“Between November 17th and December 31st we’ll hope to put them in as many European territories as we can, even if we have to place small seed quantities on day one.”

What exactly does that mean? Will ’smaller’ European nations get small quantities initially compared to places like the UK, France, Germany etc or will the whole of Europe get equal billing with just a few on day 1?

C&VG - Pal PS3s First off the Production line

Gavin has released a new PS3 Countdown podcast - number 18. He discusses the UK price change, minors buying adult games, and more.

PS3 Countdown 18

Edit:

Since there was a problem with #18, Gavin’s put up a new podcast - #19 !

PS3 Countdown 19

Wow, look! An article that’s positive about the PS3! Who’d ‘a’ thunk it? They give several reasons why the PS3 will rock, all of them good, of course.

For me personally, the one biggest thing I’m looking forward to is the BD player. I know it’s gotten a lot of bad press. It’s driving up the cost of the PS3 to $600, after all! But hey, I’m an HDTV guy as well as a gamer, and this device caters to both my passions at the same time. It’s a rocking game machine with muscle, and it’s also a BD player. I honestly think that it’ll be a better BD player than the PS2 was a DVD player. I have an HDTV and really enjoy watching HD material. I’m a big movie watcher. So having a BD player in there will be an awesome bonus for me.

What single feature are you most looking forward to in the PS3?

Why The PS3 Will Rock

GameSpot has a preview of the Formula One 2006 game coming from Sony. I know it’s not PS3 related, but there’s some interesting stuff in here that may bear some relevance. The game has all sorts of new features, like pitstops and the like. It is being released on both the PS2 and the PSP this summer.

And here’s where things get interesting - PS2 and PSP owners can race each other! I don’t recall seeing this before, where a person on one console/portable platform can play against a person on a different platform. You’ll be able to join the same lobbies and compete in the same races. Pretty neat stuff. I assume this is part of where Sony is going with the PSP and PS3 integration. I wonder if one day PS2, PS3, and PSP owners can all race against each other?

E3 06: Formula One 06 Hands-on - PlayStation 2 News at GameSpot