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Apple has Apple Stores, Samsung has... this!
You know those heady dreams of a new Samsung product launch today? Well consider them punctured. There's no new gadget to announce, but instead a teaming-up with UK retailer Phones 4u, offering a dedicated space for Samsung to dip its toes into retail waters. Located on London's Oxford Street -- and just around the corner from an Apple Store -- the shop-within-a-shop displays all of the Korean makers' big hitters, with several tables housing Galaxy Tab 10.1s, Galaxy Notes and Galaxy S IIs. The rest of that expansive galactic family dot the periphery of the room, but then you'd probably come here primarily to test-drive the aforementioned flagships. The tables themselves are dressed down; no pricing or carrier information clogging up the surfaces, just the devices and some Galaxy branding. Samsung's claimed the whole top floor and the shop is already training up dedicated Samsung staff to answer pressing questions like what's the point of the Galaxy Ace Plus whether that phone has Gorilla glass and when we can expect to see a Galaxy S III in the flesh.
Phil Harrison did his part to hype up the Euro launch
Making an appearance at the Virgin Megastore on Oxford Street, Phil Harrison gave a speechy-speech about the importance of the European market and how he gets all warm and fuzzy inside to see people waiting to get their greasy claws on the see-every-piece-of-dust-and-fingerpint PlayStation 3. We'll just list his quotes that were worthwhile. Why? ...Because. Every speech has highs and lows, you know? "The fact that we've got the launch here with more consoles shipped on day one that we've ever had in our history is a compliment to the importance of the European market." Well, the extra months to stockpile the Emotionless PS3's probably helped! "I've seen PlayStation 1 and PlayStation 2 launched on Oxford Street but this is the most meaningful for me personally, because I think it's so important not just for our industry but for UK consumers - the fact that they're going to get the best machine with the best software support, the most Network service and the firmware update." Eh, give or take on the software support and network service. But yeah, the PS3 definitely has the firmware update! "They had to wait, and I feel really bad about that. But I'm hoping we can make it up to them with the quality of software that we've got coming out." He refers to HOME and LittleBigPlanet, insisting their announcement was coincidental and not meant to build up some European launch steam. "The fact that people are prepared to invest their time, their money and their passion in queueing up to be part of a launch is great - and it kind of makes all the hard work worthwhile. It's not just for people in the UK, it's for the guys in Japan who make the hardware, it's for the people who make the software, and the thousands of people who are part of the PlayStation story." Aww, that's a nice note to end on. We're part of a story! That's about all he said that we're going to mention. Actually, we didn't leave all that much out. Did anyone go to the Oxford Street launch? Was he there in person or was it a video or something? Not sure how that works since Georgia isn't the biggest attraction for important corporation personalities.
Police concerned about impending UK PS3 launch
The PS3 is launching on Friday, March 23rd in Europe, and Virgin Megastore's flagship Oxford Street store will be home to a midnight launch--something that has the police worried. A spokesperson for Marylebone Police has told GamesIndustry.biz that there are "genuine concerns" about the safety of shoppers attending the launch.The American launch of the PS3 was wrought with violence, including shootings, and various robberies. The Virgin Megastore launch will pose a few unique problems for police, as it is situated on a narrow stretch of pavement nearby busy tube and bus stops. Because crowd barricades will not be possible, the police are advising shoppers to take extra caution: "We don't want people walking around London with expensive pieces of equipment late at night. We want Oxford Street to be vibrant and successful, but we don't want victims of crime."Eurogamer is offering a few (obvious) tidbits for those willing to camp out for the midnight launch: don't bring cash, have a cell phone, bring a friend, and take a cab back home. Good luck to all of you that are going to attempt a midnight launch.
