PlayStation 3 European launch on March 23

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe today announced that PLAYSTATION 3 will be launched in the PAL territories of Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia on March 23 at a price of 599m euros. 

Cyprus distributor for PlayStation, Gibareio Ltd, announced that “We are delighted to confirm that Playstation 3 will be launched in the Cyprus market, along with the rest of Europe on March 23 along with the terrific line-up of launch games.”

“There is great anticipation locally for PS3,” said Sharon Green, Managing Director of Gibareio. The European recommended retail price of EUR 599 euros will mean a maximum Cyprus retail price of CYP 349.

For more information consumers can contact Gibareio Ltd (22352282) or visit www.playstation,com.cy and follow the link (through the picture of PS3 on the home page) to the official PS3 web-site to will find all the latest PS3 news. There is also a list of Cyprus official PlayStation dealers.

Responding to retail and consumer demand, SCEE confirmed that initially only the 60GB model would be available, with the 20GB model to follow later in the year depending on demand.

An expected one million PS3 units will be made available during the initial launch period.

SCEE also announced a launch line-up of over 30 game titles for PS3, including some of its titles published such as Resistance: Fall of Man, MotorStorm, Genji: Days of the Blade, Formula One Championship Edition and Ridge Racer 7. A range of titles in every genre will also be available at launch from the world’s leading third party publishers, including Electronic Arts, Activision, Namco Bandai, Sega, Take 2, Ubisoft, Vivendi Universal, and Sony Online Entertainment.

In addition to games on disc, an exciting range of fully-featured downloadable games will debut on the PlayStation Network. These will include gaming icons such as Tekken: Dark Resurrection and Gran Turismo HD Concept; the fully-featured PS3 debut of the best-selling franchise Gran Turismo, realised with full HD (1080p) visual quality. Created by Polyphony Digital Inc and published by Sony Computer Entertainment, Gran Turismo HD Concept has been downloaded by more than 350,000 users since it was released in December 2006 in North America and Japan.

Also available on the PlayStation Network will be brainteasers such as Go! Sudoku and Go! Puzzle, and innovative games such as Blast Factor and flOw, designed exclusively for PlayStation 3 and delivering on the promise to provide original content created by non-traditional developers and publishers.

Concurrent with the European launch, a new System Update to further enhance the entertainment potential of PS3 will be issued.

Announcing the launch details, David Reeves, President of SCEE said, “Following the hugely successful launches of PS3 in Japan and North America, we are absolutely delighted to be able to bring significant numbers of PS3 to the SCEE territories. To be able to launch with over 30 titles across every genre shows that this is our strongest launch line-up in the history of PlayStation, and is what PlayStation fans in Europe have been crying out for.”