Italian retailers have begun selling the PS3 two days ahead of the official launch date.
The problem began when small scale Italian retail chain, Darty, placed adverts in national newspapers. The adverts stated that customers will be able to purchase the PS3 from 7pm tonight.†
Not to be outdone, larger rival Media World announced that it has cancelled its midnight launch on Friday and that the PS3 would be available from 9am today.
Events were escalated further when rival retailer GameStop responded that, although it is not the company's policy to break street dates, it may be forced to commence sale of the PS3 early.
SPOnG contacted for a response SCEE and was told:
Sony hasn't elaborated on what those actions may be. The responses that retailers typically fear in these situations are penalties such as reduced or late stock allocations. The problem Sony faces, however, is that a large number of Italian stores are now selling the console. Penalising all of them in such a manner may prove damaging to its own business.
The situation vaguely mirrors the early sale of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in January here in the UK.
With the merchandise in question being £425 hardware, however, the situation is more serious for Sony. This is the first time a hardware street date has been broken by this large a margin and it could set a bad precedent for future console launches.
The real losers are specialist, and particularly independent, retailers who may not receive stock until Friday morning and may lose sales as a result. That said, retailers wouldn't be facing a problem if their allocations were tied up in pre-orders. They might be facing disgruntled customers, true. But, if the consoles were unavailable for free sale, customers would have no choice but to go to the retailer with which they'd placed a pre-order.
There's been no sign of a similar situation developing in the UK, but at least eager Sony fans can start camping out at Virgin Megastores now.
† Source: Gamesindustry.biz
The problem began when small scale Italian retail chain, Darty, placed adverts in national newspapers. The adverts stated that customers will be able to purchase the PS3 from 7pm tonight.†
Not to be outdone, larger rival Media World announced that it has cancelled its midnight launch on Friday and that the PS3 would be available from 9am today.
Events were escalated further when rival retailer GameStop responded that, although it is not the company's policy to break street dates, it may be forced to commence sale of the PS3 early.
SPOnG contacted for a response SCEE and was told:
"Sony Computer Entertainment Europe is deeply disappointed by the unilateral decision of some Italian retail chains to commence the sale of PlayStation 3 to consumers before this official launch date, and we will carefully consider all available options in relation to retailers who have commenced sale of PLAYSTATION 3 prior to 23rd March 2007. Such decisions run counter to our policy of consumer protection which seeks to ensure that all of our consumers have an equal opportunity to purchase PLAYSTATION 3."
Sony hasn't elaborated on what those actions may be. The responses that retailers typically fear in these situations are penalties such as reduced or late stock allocations. The problem Sony faces, however, is that a large number of Italian stores are now selling the console. Penalising all of them in such a manner may prove damaging to its own business.
The situation vaguely mirrors the early sale of World of Warcraft: The Burning Crusade in January here in the UK.
With the merchandise in question being £425 hardware, however, the situation is more serious for Sony. This is the first time a hardware street date has been broken by this large a margin and it could set a bad precedent for future console launches.
The real losers are specialist, and particularly independent, retailers who may not receive stock until Friday morning and may lose sales as a result. That said, retailers wouldn't be facing a problem if their allocations were tied up in pre-orders. They might be facing disgruntled customers, true. But, if the consoles were unavailable for free sale, customers would have no choice but to go to the retailer with which they'd placed a pre-order.
There's been no sign of a similar situation developing in the UK, but at least eager Sony fans can start camping out at Virgin Megastores now.
† Source: Gamesindustry.biz
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Comments
Joji 21 Mar 2007 12:38
1/2
What can I say, it's not like we haven't waited long enough for the damn thing.
OptimusP 21 Mar 2007 15:01
2/2
i can read the UK:R spin allready "Italian shops sell PS3 early to get rid of useless abundant stock so that others get stuck with theirs...Sony stockpenalties will be welcomed fondly"