The PS3 launch in Europe has been a low-key affair. Even the spoiler tactics - which to our knowledge have only come from Microsoft so far - have been, well drab in the UK at least.
Microsoft sent out thousands of cans of free lager (well, Fosters) to the UK’s games media yesterday, in a bullish effort to convince us all that the £146 price difference between the PS3 and the Xbox 360 is something both media and consumers need to be made more aware of.
In terms of hammering a message home, SPOnG can think of no better way than sending a lovely card with a nice and simple little message, and then dumping seven crates of Australia’s finest exported cooking lager on your doorstep to make sure you GET that message…
The launch day spoiler shenanigans didn’t end there. Some cheeky chappies were seen to be giving out camping chairs outside Virgin last night (SPOnG actually spotted a few of them infiltrating the eager queues of gamers upstairs around midnight).
“How kind of Sony?” One thinks, until you click on the URL flagged across the back of the chairs, which we’ll let you do yourselves at SHKYW.org
A big boat floated down the Seine in Paris with a 'I heart 360' banner (pictured, plus video below) to remind our Gallic cousins that Microsoft still intend to ‘pwn’ the next/new generation of gaming, if you can excuse the usage of embarrassing American teen slang.
The console wars just got low-down and dirty. This is just not cricket!