Iain S Bruce on the announcement that Sony won't launch PS3 to Europe until March 2007
According to the BBC, Sony have admitted that their flagship Playstation 3 console now won't hit Europe until March 2007.
Adding a further six months to what has already been a long and tedious saga won't please the people who've spent more than a year with their tongues on the floor waiting for the much-vaunted launch. It won't please the company's accountants either.
Microsoft, on the other hand, will be delighted. The announcement means that by the time the PS3 reaches UK shop shelves, their Xbox 360 will have enjoyed a two-year head start in the race to dominate the next generation games market.
Have Sony blown it? The delay is reportedly due to issues with manufacturing parts for the high-definition Blu-ray disc drives in the machines, and given the long-running controversy surrounding this technology, you have to wonder whether the company's determination to persevere with it won't prove a catastrophic mistake.
