Sony Shafts Europe with PS3 Launch Delay

Come November 11th and 17th anyone in Japan and the US with a mysteriously large wad of cash will be able to pick up their beloved PS3 at their local electronics shop. Sony fans in the UK, Russia, Africa, and Australia have been anticipating joining their geek brothers in sweet solidarity on those same days. All was right with the world. Today Sony has sadly announced that due to a lack of fancy blue laser diodes they will not be making their previously set production goals.

London, Wednesday 6 September 2006 – Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) today announced that it would revise the launch date of its PLAYSTATION® 3 computer entertainment system in the PAL territories of Europe, Russia, Middle East, Africa and Australasia from 17th November 2006, as previously announced to March 2007.
Launch dates for Japan and North America will remain the same, which are November 11th and November 17th respectively.
The revision of the launch date in the SCEE territories is caused by the delay in the mass production schedule of the blue laser diode within the Sony Group, thus affecting the timely procurement of key components to be utilised in PLAYSTATION 3.
The previously announced PLAYSTATION 3 shipment forecast of 6 million units globally within the fiscal year ending 2007 is not changed.
Sony already has an uphill battle to face with the steep price tag of its PS3 and could have benefited from the hilariously loose spending habits regularly found around the holiday season. Consumers in those regions are now left with the more affordable and readily available Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii. Good luck Sony! You'll get it right one of these days.

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