The PlayStation 3 officially went on sale in Australia overnight, with hundreds of gamers lining up outside more than 500 retail stores across the nation to purchase Sony's latest console at midnight launch events.
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The largest event was held at Sydney's Pitt St mall, where retail store
Myer and Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCEA) teamed up to
present launch night activities which included prize giveaways, live
demonstrations and a screening of Casino Royale on the big screen.
Approximately 70 people lined up to grab their consoles at the Myer
Pitt St store, with a hundred-strong crowd looking on. The PS3's
arrival comes exactly one year after Microsoft's Xbox 360 launched in
Australia. Microsoft's launch event for the 360 -- which was also held
in Sydney's Pitt St mall -- drew a crowd of close to 1000 people.
Danny Zarka, from Pyrmont in Sydney, was the first to purchase a PS3 at the Myer launch event.
Other retailers across Sydney also held launch events, most of which drew modest crowds. The Harvey Norman store at the Moore Park SupaCenta had close to 40 people attend its midnight launch activities, which included an appearance from Australian boxing great Kostya Tszyu. Tszyu was on hand to demo Fight Night Round 3, as well as sign the first PS3 sold at the store.
Over at EB Games at Bondi Junction in Sydney's Eastern Suburbs, the
launch crowd was even smaller, with approximately 20 people lined up
outside the store to purchase their PS3s. Five major retailers opened
late in the large shopping district of Chatswood, on Sydney's North
Shore. The EB Games at Chatswood had about 30 in their line, while the
near-by Toys'R'Us store scored 20.
Approximately 70 people lined up at the Myer launch event.
Despite the low turn-out, retailers were generally positive about the launch of Sony's next-generation product. Myer chief executive officer Bernie Brooks said his chain of stores experienced an extremely high number of PS3 pre-sales, citing the figure at more than AU$2 million. Harvey Norman general manager for computers and communications Rutland Smith said his company is estimating that the PS3 will generate close to A$10 million in sales by Monday, with 50 percent coming from pre-orders.
SCEA is also bullish, reporting that more than AU$20 million worth of PS3s had been pre-ordered prior to launch.
Business issues didn't concern gamers waiting in line for their console, though. Danny Zarka, the first person in line at Myer's Pitt St store, said he had been anxiously awaiting the PS3 for more than a year.
Michael Ephraim is full of BS......The PS3 launch was a dismal failure, crowd numbers were way, way down on SCE expectations, and there is NO WAY that 20,000 PS3 will be sold through by Monday 26/3/07. Many, many of the stores that opened for midnight launches were lucky to sell even a handful of units and most were closed again by 12.15am, with staff & security ounumbering actual buyers.
Consumers are voting with their feet and staying well away from PS3 due to its high price and weak game offering upon launch, plus a host of other issues. When it's RRP gets within $100 of X-Box 360, then you can expect the sales to rev up.....