The year in review for Europe

It's been a transitional year for the gaming industry in Europe, with the continent continually playing catch-up and looking at our American and Japanese brethren with envy. Next Generation have summed it up, from a UK
perspective:

"Through these thick glass walls we've watched you play with your Nintendo DS months before us, and the PSP for even longer. The week you had the Xbox 360 before us felt like an eternity – we would have loved to have power supplies overheating if it meant we could have played the thing for just a few minutes."

The DS launch broke expectations, shipping 87k consoles in March, but the PSP doubled that figure despite the short stocks available. Talking of short stocks, the 360's near-simultaneous launch surprised jaded Europeans who expected another delay of several months—not always a bad thing, as bugs get ironed out—but came with its own problems.

The industry also faced trouble with the collapse of two trade shows, leaving the gaming public out in the cold, but the impromptu Games Market Europe took their place and promises to be back next year. All in all, it's been a bumpy ride for games companies, and yet merely the precursor for what's shaping up to be an exciting 2006. Let's hope some lessons have been learnt from the shipping and stock problems with this year's console launches, at least.