I live in the North East of England, so when I heard on the radio at work that Sony was delaying the launch of the PS3 in PAL territories until March 2007 I had two contrasting emotions.

My first reaction was one of dismay. Stupid Sony letting us Europeans down again, discriminating against us! We always get the short straw!! BOO!!!!! 😡

Then I started thinking about what this would mean for us Europeans & the advantages we could gain from not getting our hands on the PS3 until March 2007.

Advantage no.1:

Come March 2007, there should be a much wider selection of quality titles ready for release alongside the PS3’s European debut.

Some people are saying it could be the greatest launch ever with the quantity & quality of games that could be available at the European launch.

This could also mean retailers might throw in a free game alongside the PS3 to get our money.

Advantage no.2:

Defective hardware is always an issue with the first 6 – 12 months of a consoles life. Having to wait at least an extra 4 months should give Sony the opportunity to iron out any faults that may have appeared with the North American & Japanese PS3s. In theory.

Advantage no. 3:

Sony may have some online teething problems at first & if that is the case, we Europeans should get a much smoother online experience when we finally get the PS3. Any glitches should be easily fixed with downloadable updates.

We should avoid whatever initial problems Sony have with it’s online service.

Advantage no.4:

The rumoured price of the 60GB PS3 in the UK was £425 but it was never officially confirmed. Sony may put the price of the 60GB European PS3 at £399 when it releases next year. Not much of a price drop but it is slightly easier on the eyes being under the £400 mark.

Probably wishful thinking on my part.

Advantage no.5:

We were guaranteed to get the short end of the stick with regards to the number of PS3s that would’ve been made available in Europe atthe now cancelled Nov 17th launch, but now the European launch has been put back 4 months behind the North American & Japanese launches, there may be a larger allocation of consoles made available in March.

If this does happen, we won’t suffer as many shortages as we would’ve done if it was launched Nov 17th.

My final thoughts:

If I had a choice between getting my hands on the PS3 this November or March 2007 there’s no doubt I’d choose November! Yes I’m dissapointed at what Sony has done but my mind hasn’t been changed. I decided a while back I’d be getting a PS3 & I’m not going to change my mind & buy a 360 or Wii simply because I have to wait an extra 4 months.

The above points may or may not happen, some are more likely than others but the main reason why I want a PS3 is because the games that I want are all on PS3 & unless every single one of them are suddenly made available on another console before March, a PS3 is what I’ll be getting.