Sony has once again dealt a blow to Europe and PAL territories the world over, as is its tradition, by announcing that it will be releasing the console four months after the official launch in Japan and the US.
In an announcement made by Sony, the delay is being blamed on the shortage of blue laser diodes, used in the proces of reading Blu-Ray discs.
It is not the first time Sony have upset gamers by announcing a disappointment of somesort. Previously there was the prototype boomerang controller that was replaced in favour of a controller from the PlayStation 2 without a rumble feature. To make up for this the controller now included a motion sensor, presumably after seeing Nintendo’s controller efforts and the legal issues with Immersion over the rumble feature. Also, a change in specifications resulting in a cut down version of previously hyped specifications didn’t help Sony’s image. To top it all off, the number of consoles expected to ship by the end of 2006 has been cut in half to around two after an announcement stating a figure of four million.
For gamers in PAL territories this Christmas, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 or Nintendo’s Wii will be the console of choice.