PS3 UK/PAL launch details confirmed

Sony confirmed the details of the PS3 launch in the UK, Europe, Australia and New Zealand last night. 23rd March is the day and £424.99 / €599 / A$999.95 / NZ$1,199.95 are the respective prices.



There will be one million of the consoles available in Europe, with 300,000 of those likely earmarked for the UK. It will only be available in the premium 60GB version initially, the cheaper 20GB version may be available later in the year depending on demand.

There are going to be around 30 games available at launch including Resistance: Fall of Man, Genji: Days of the Blade, Call of Duty 3, The Elder Scrolls lV: Oblivion and Formula One Championship Edition to name a few.

With the Xbox 360 having already sold 10 million units worldwide and the Nintendo Wii selling 700,000 units in Europe in December alone, Sony are definitely playing catch-up. The high price of the PS3 won't help, you could buy a premium Xbox 360 AND a Wii for only £35 more than a PS3.

Nevertheless, it will surely sell out at launch. It's just whether it can keep selling once the hype has died down. With rumours that stores are struggling to shift the gaming behemoth in the US and Japan post-Christmas, it will be interesting to see if there is a similar pattern over here.