Italian retailers selling PlayStation 3s before launch date

For reasons unexplained, certain Italian retailers in Europe have started selling PS3s two days before the official launch date which is on March 23. Because of this, a spokesperson from Sony gave a statement regarding the issue.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) 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. 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.

The problem apparently started when Darty Stores released advertisements in various newspapers, stating that customers will be able to purchase PS3s at their stores starting on 7pm,  March 21. A competitor, Media World, responded to this by canceling its planned midnight launch on 23 and also announcing to the public that their PS3 units will go on sale by 9am on the same day, March 21. GameStop has also said that despite its policy against breaking street dates, it may be forced to break the street date as well, if rival stores started selling early.

Davide Sher of Trade Interactive Multimedia (TIM) magazine has commented on this incident:

The mainstream consumer electronics retailers get their PS3 stock early, so they can start selling early. But many specialist retailers don’t have any units yet and won’t receive any until Friday morning. This puts them at a real disadvantage.

So far, no actions or penalties have been imposed by Sony regarding this issue, but we’ll keep you updated on any new developments on this matter.

Thanks to damanisjon for the heads-up!

Via Games Industry

For reasons unexplained, certain Italian retailers in Europe have started selling PS3s two days before the official launch date which is on March 23. Because of this, a spokesperson from Sony gave a statement regarding the issue.

Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) 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. 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.

The problem apparently started when Darty Stores released advertisements in various newspapers, stating that customers will be able to purchase PS3s at their stores starting on 7pm,  March 21. A competitor, Media World, responded to this by canceling its planned midnight launch on 23 and also announcing to the public that their PS3 units will go on sale by 9am on the same day, March 21. GameStop has also said that despite its policy against breaking street dates, it may be forced to break the street date as well, if rival stores started selling early.

Davide Sher of Trade Interactive Multimedia (TIM) magazine has commented on this incident:

The mainstream consumer electronics retailers get their PS3 stock early, so they can start selling early. But many specialist retailers don’t have any units yet and won’t receive any until Friday morning. This puts them at a real disadvantage.

So far, no actions or penalties have been imposed by Sony regarding this issue, but we’ll keep you updated on any new developments on this matter.

Thanks to damanisjon for the heads-up!

Via Games Industry