Australian PS3 launch underwhelming
Today is tomorrow in Australia. Not just is it tomorrow, but it's coming on noon. According to The Sydney Morning Herald the PlayStation 3 launched last night with "officials, media and security outnumbering customers." The 500 retailers on the continent opened their doors for a midnight launch and despite the estimated 20,000 pre-orders "most stores were virtually deserted."
The Herald says even the official launch event at Myer's Pitt Street store had only 40 people in line at midnight "causing distress for the army of camera crews who turned up expecting to capture launch mayhem." The gentlemen who ended up being first in line showed up at 9 PM. Adding insult to injury, television producers "unashamedly" had the crowd fake cheer for the cameras. A local radio station even had their on-air talent create "bogus cheers" to convince listeners that a major event was going on. Looks like the hype accompanying the U.S. launch has all but vanished. We'll get a better picture of the PS3 PAL release later this evening when reports of the European launch trickle in. Maybe the land down under is just full of Xbox and Nintendo fanboys?
