LONDON (Reuters) - The Sony Playstation 2 finally hit Europe on Friday but shortages led disappointed fans to offer extra cash to buy the game consoles from the lucky ones who got them first.
The state-of-the-art console, offering faster and more vivid gaming than its forerunner, was delivered to a limited number of fans who ordered early, but won't be on free sale in the shops until next year because production can't keep up with demand.
In Britain, around 80,000 people on the waiting list turned up to collect the hotly awaited new machine at games shops, many of which opened specially at midnight to turn the event into a special occasion.
They paid $420 for the slim black box which uses an advanced 128-bit processor and has an inbuilt digital versatile disc player.
It is Sony's answer to new or coming products from main rivals Sega, Nintendo (news - web sites) and Microsoft.
A few buyers headed straight to the Internet to try and sell them for a big profit on UK auction sites like QXL, EBay and Freeserve.
People who failed to get onto Sony's list of the 165,000 people to get a Playstation 2 (PS2) by Christmas were offering up to about $630 buy one on the gray market.''
The lowest bid for the couple of dozen consoles so far up for grabs was about $422 -- just slightly more than the retail price -- but no one had offered the approximately $700 one seller demanded.
Sony said its pre-ordering system was designed to dampen down profiteering after consoles sold for four-figure sums in the United States when they went on sale there in October.
It says Playstation's Europe launch was delayed by a month because factories could not meet high demand in Japan and then the United States, partly because of chip shortages.
It denies it has deliberately kept the consoles in tight supply in order to boost the hype.
It does not make good business sense to restrict the number of machines for people at the busiest shopping time of the year,'' a Sony UK spokesman said.
Because Europe has a different television standard to the United States and Japan, where the Playstation first went on sale in March, fans could not jump the gun by buying abroad.
Half a million Playstations are due to be shipped in Europe before Christmas. Three and a half million have been sold in Japan.
Analysts say Europe is the world's largest market for video game machines. In Britain, almost one in four households is estimated to own an original Playstation console.
By Richard Meares
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Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by The Fart (not verified) onFFFAAARRTTT, FART FART FART FART FART FART FART FARRRRET,oh yeha n one more thingBBBBUUURRP!!!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by wayne (not verified) oni have had a psx for 3/4 years i got my pc p200 2 years ago since then my pc is abselite long time ago my psx is sill tomorrows consel with the psone being released so who is advanced when it comes to gaming
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Dre (not verified) onEveryone talks about PC's being better than Consoles, but how often or if every has anyones PSX or Dremcast or anyother system crashed on them. Or they need Patch downloads or updates to function properly with certain controllers, or video cards etc etc....It won't be long before Gameing Consoles basicaly become PC's, but they would be "Deticated Gaming PCs" which means no crashing, bugs or any other sorts of errors...
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Mr. Smith (not verified) onI am the Sony head manager in Europe and I can tell you that there was no shortage of chips, we simply wanted to build up the hype. My fellow workers think this should be kept unknown but I disagree !
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Morfeu^Portugal (not verified) onI wanna the f*cking console, i wanna, i wanna, where the hell is it?!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by kobi (not verified) onO.k PEOPLE THE NEW SONY PLAYSTATION 2 f**kING MACHINE HAS ARRIVED BUT IT STILL DIDN'T REACH TO ISRAEL, AND IF IT WILL REACH SO.WHAT I'M TRYING TO ASK IS "HOW MUCH WILL IT COST TO BUY HIM IN ISRAEL" ?????*SORRY ABOUT THE BAD LANGUAGE !!!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Timbo (not verified) onLMAO @ Wayne, the psx is still tommorrows console? geez where the hell have you been for the past 3 years dumbass. roflmao @ a narrowminded fool who belives his psx still rules, aaaahaaaa im crying with laughter.. :) :) :)
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Mad Jack (not verified) onGive me a console for games any day. By the time I setup a game on my PC I'm sick of the sight of the darn thing!!!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Nameless One (not verified) onIt's the best console ever!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by BigWiver (not verified) onGIMME GIMME GIMME A PS2!!!!!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by luke (not verified) onLMAO@TIMO i maen holle who die and made you king who are you to down other peoples comments you little no all
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Yuri_Gargorinov... (not verified) onI don´t want just the console, i want it´s games tooo!!! How about some more information of those too????
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Mwarhead (not verified) onStop sending them to Europe and make more for the US!!!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Jay (not verified) onWhy is everyone in the rush to get one. There are hardly any games for it yet!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Lord Lethris (not verified) onPSX2?PSXPoo!Didn't even pass the "Godzilla" DVD playback test. Stuttered like a scratched record!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Posa (not verified) onwhats all this crap about europe. it should be in australia.we are the greatest(copyrighted)that is my word, country in the world, so everyone else f**k off and suck my d**k
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by arghh.. (not verified) onShaddap! Curse there is no games allmost. its too new, i wouldnt buy one if ya "throwd" it at me .. heh.. PC is the best.! f#"¤ the rest! :)Thanx..
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by darXide (not verified) onSomeone make a fooking Tekken /Soul Calibur for the PC and we dont have to bother with the PS2! ffs its not like its a diffcult game to make! bah.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by just want to say (not verified) onWhat is so cool in PSX2?I have 21" monitor and my PC with PIII-733and 64 mb vidoe card makes me really happy for thequality of the games. Anyway I'm boring to wait when PSX takesa F!@# long time to load primitive (for the graphic) game. And that sh@tis only for games. Children getting more dumb!PC- is the best! F!@#!@ any game consoles!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Torfi (not verified) onpsx2 beats pc and thats a factit has better sound system much better games and much better graphics pc cant even compeet to psx2
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Alex (not verified) onPsx2 beat pc? come on wake up man!!!!!!that is a fact that if u have a old 486 U'll get kicked as **** but if u have a good pc u can upgrade it and it will kick the *** of the ps2 and it will last longuer that ps2.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by [MaxMad] (not verified) onOla a todos e a todas.é só mesmo pra dizer ke adorei e vou sempre kontinuar a gostar destas konsolas da Sony.Ke a Playstation 2 tenha o mesmo sucesso que teve a playstation em Portugal.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by I have a life, ... (not verified) onWht's this? I'm tired of reading your fu**in bla, bla, bla. GET A LIFE! You're spending most part of your life in front of a f***ing screen. When I heard that 70% of you, game freaks, whould rather play a game than f**k, I thought to my self - "Hey man, the world is goin nuts!" - I have a PC, good games, I like to play, surf in the Net, but I RATHER F**K THAN PLAY PC (or PSX, DC, ...). When I see all of you so f***in worried about what is the best console, I don't care about that s**t, what I'm interested is the game, not the console, if you look back you see that Ps1 had some very low quality games, and it also had the best games ever - beati'n all the others in that time -, so don't get too c**ky when a super hit comes out to any console, cuz next month it could be it's rival's time to have a superhit game. It's all in the programmers, well, at least most of the credits are, if they squeeze all the CPU power they can do almost the impossible! Saying now that DC is better than PC or Ps2 is a waste of time, wait some time and then we'll see who's got te good stuff. By the way, I just wanna ask you how much would you pay for a Ps2, or DC and for a Ps2asskicki'n PC, and tell-me what is the best choice for the common user, by other words, by some one that only wanna play (like most of you) hardcoreasskickinheadcrushin games.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by JORDACHE (not verified) onI am available too. When can i come round to bang you? I am 5"4', blonde, and like firm bums. What about you?
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by tiago (not verified) onSPORTING OLÉ!!!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Kossa (not verified) onGees lads get a life and get both PSX2 AND a PC! That will solve all probs. You can stay updated with your PC equipment as well as have the opportunity to play games on PSX2. I have both and I am quite happy puppy having the opportunity to play all my favs on PC AND having new games on PSX2.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by arne (not verified) onÄHHHHHHHHHHH. ITS BETTER TO F**K THAN PLAY GAMES."pLAY THE MOUSE".
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by you still don't... (not verified) onNo one has yet told-me whow much would you pay for a Ps2asskicki'n PC!!! Is it because no one is interested in saying that that Ps2asskicki'n PC is 3-4x more expensive than a Ps2, or is it because no one of you freaks know how to answer a simple question? You can say what you want but the numbers are a fact, and the fact is that such a PC will cost you much more than a Ps2, well, you always can buy one that is crashing all the time when you try to run Minesweeper on it! Let's just be realist and the reality is that if you have the enough money to buy that PC (if I had nothing else to do with it I would buy-it), ther's a lot more ppl that simply don't have-it or won't waste-it, and that's it, the REALITY, not that pinkfarytalelittleelfsandmagicians dreams that your livin in. Sony has already realised that long time ago, now it's one of the top international trademarks on the world, when will you realise that too?...
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by I agree (not verified) onI AGREE with everybody who says that psx2 does not matter.....GET a PC....It IS SOOOOO MUCH BETTER
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Meoff Jack (not verified) onI cant afford him ! can you give me onefor free ?
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Pote (not verified) onOne thing I dont understand is why do people have to be hostile to each other about the machines they own. And I dont understand why everybody is so excited about the PSX2.I Haventseeanythingmindblowing that it would have to offer, except an extremely high price. I currently have a PC and Im quite happy with it and I think that if I would buy again a console it would be Dreamcast because it has atleast something to offer when you go to the store. If I had the money I think I would posess both a PC and a console
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by just_pazz (not verified) onLook ppl.... a console is a console and a pc is a pc, there all good! both have great games so what's the problem? nothing! play them both coz that's what it's all about, playing games.One last thing, PS2 v Dreamcast v X-Box is all BS! they all have great things 2 offer so who gives a rat's *** 'bout which one they have? fools..
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by bob from down t... (not verified) onLook all you PS2 fans! The PS2 doesn't even have any games yet! and you guys are buying the thing for a bad *** price! Look back at the months and think how much DreamCast gameplay you losers have missed!!!! Any way the Game Cube (AKA Nintendo Dolphin) is going to be the best console out of the whole lot.(P.S: X-Box sucks ***!!!!! )
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by bob from down t... (not verified) onLook all you PS2 fans! The PS2 doesn't even have any games yet! and you guys are buying the thing for a bad *** price! Look back at the months and think how much DreamCast gameplay you losers have missed!!!! Any way the Game Cube (AKA Nintendo Dolphin) is going to be the best console out of the whole lot.(P.S: X-Box sucks ***!!!!! )
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by htseeker (not verified) onhey buy em all like me! Playstation 2, dreamcast and a pretty decent comp. Don't be tight! Pay to play baby!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Marco (not verified) onBuy them all if they're fun. What's the problem here?
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by lfm (not verified) onf**k offPSX2 kicks *****
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Zeus (not verified) onI want My PS2 NOW!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by TPolice666 (not verified) onHey, Just buy a PC. There will be a PS2 emulator thingy (BleemPS2?) in about 2 years and itll be cheaper.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Consoles the du... (not verified) onLook at it this way in two years time Ps2's are going to look exactly the same as they do now.Where in two years time PC's are going to have the latest everything graphics,sound,dvd ect. and will be looking **** cool.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by SOME GUY! (not verified) onI havent bought a console in about 7 years... why? because after the SNES i realised there is no point. The technology advance's so rapidly that companies like Nintendo, Sega, and now even Microsoft (bahahahahha) use the technology to take the market by storm with the hype of faster and better systems... Back in the days it used to be about games, who would release the better game, the SNES or the Genesis... now, however, the companies dont care for games, they beat the opposition by releasing a newer system and giving it plenty of hype. So as soon as the PSX came out people at Sega would've realised, "Right, were screwed, lets just beat em with tech specs!", and thus we have the DC, so what does Sony do in retaliation, "So... Sega think they can beat us with a 128-bit system eh? Lets make a real son of a ***** console and hype it up as much as we can, then we'll be number 1!"Its all about speed and graphics now, thats it. How often do we all see people arguing, "yeah well the XBOX is 733mhz!" - "yeah well the gamecube is gonna have etc etc"So to sum this up, we are all arguing about speed and DVD compatability etc...think about this... just recently (couple of weeks back), a new form of CD was released.... the storage capacity of the disc is 150 GIG!!!... thats right kiddies, that can store a lot of stages and graphics and sounds...The PS2 is a waste of time, in 1-2 years it will be phased out... and you will have lost $600... ofcourse if you love the games on the system.. then go right ahead... but people, please dont get so caught up in all the tech talk and hype... (half of you dont even understand most of the specs anyways, neither do i...)laterz
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Floose (not verified) onJust look at the numbers.X-box will crush Ps2, but PIII rules with PIIII.$499 gets you the unit and three free games. It's just around the corner folks! ;)* DirectX API game development tools.* Intel Pentium III 733MHz processor technology with Streaming SIMD Extensions.* 300MHz custom-designed X-Chip, developed by Microsoft and nVidia.* 64 MB of RAM (unified memory architecture).* Custom 3-D audio processor.* 8GB hard drive.* 5X DVD drive with movie playback.* Four game controller ports.* Expansion port.* Proprietary A/V connector.* 10/100 MBps Ethernet.* Broadband enabled.* Modem enabled (optional).* 6.4GB/sec Memory Bandwidth.* 150 million micropolygons/particles per second.* 150 million transformed and lit polygons per second.* 100 million polygons per second sustained performance (shading, texturing).* 4 simultaneous textures.* Compressed textures available at 6:1 compression.* Full-scene anti-aliasing.* DVD movie playback.* 1920x1080 maximum resolution.* HDTV support.* 256 Audio channels.* 3D Audio support.* Midi/DLS2 support.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Zerosignull (not verified) onI dont thinl that X-Box is going to do that well. $500 is a bit xpensive even if u get 3 free games. Fatal Eception ne one? just imagine all the f**king headaches u have with windows on ure PC. U can keep up in ure PC i dont want a win 2k kernal in ne console i buy, and BTW thats y there is so much ram in the **** X-BOX so MS Bloated Kernal can eat up half of it while doing **** all!!!! and lets face it MS is like nerd central no one with ne street cred is going to buy a X-box, and remeber quantity over quality. the PS2 had over 400 games b4 it came out due to its backwards compatibility and as far as a emulator goes. well put is this way if u need a 166, 200, 233,266, 400 because bleem keep changing there minimun processor speed, to run a console thats only going at a leasurely 33Mhz and the graphics are well, not the most surphisticated by todays standards then ure going to need at least a 1ghz prcessor with a graphics card that ***** polygons for breakfast and can handle sophistacated effects like its drinking Coffe.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Zersosignull (not verified) onAnd the Nintendoes amecube is going to blow X-Box, lets face it its got a PowerPC processor in it. U know the ones that use in macs and we all know HOW MUCH BETTER PROCCESOR PERFORMACE IN A MAC IS COMPARED TO INTELS PROCCESORS.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Hamlet 1983 (not verified) onok ok If u can't take a ps2 and a xbox U can go on a street and.....sell your body(You'll be a *****).....I'm joking this christmas I want a ps2 but all the people say that xbox is stronger is speeder extc.SO I'LL BECAME MAD IF ALL THE PEOPLE SAY THE SAME THING EVERYDAY....OH WELL IT'S JUST ARRIVED A NEW CONSOLE,STRONGER THAN XBOX:THE YBOXPLAYSTATION8f**kINGCONSOLE.....AND IT IS YOUR ONLY FOR 200000000000 MILLION DOLLAR.....NO GOOD....HAMLET.
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by -Neo- (not verified) onsorry but my friend Hamlet is a d**k head! we are italian and here in bg there is a beautiful girrl calls Fabiani that is a big big big big big *****!!! i think the he was f**king his peluche and he didn't read what is wrote!!!! good night everybody!
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by HAmlet (not verified) onhmmmmmmmmmm FAbiani is a beautiful *****....hmmmm bella fighe
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by artur (not verified) onalso f**k the x-box das teil is so fürn arsch man die ps2 is fett geil und der dreck is von microsoft also kann das teil nur abschtürzen also maul halten alle die son teil haben wollenalso PPPPPPPSSSSSSSSS222222222 is fett geil und die grafick lol wird noch viel besser und diesige grafick is scho geil
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Anonymous (not verified) onman ihr scheiß amis seid nur auf das beste aus und die ps2 is das beste was es überhaupt gibt FFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUCCCCCCCKKKKKKK all
Playstation 2 finally hit Europe!
Submitted by Njoi (not verified) onhello!!!!Are you forgetting that dreamcast as pratically the same graphics that ps2 has??And that it is as fast and has got free internet and a really better gamepad then ps2.And , of course, that it is much cheaper than the ps2. Why are you forgetting about dreamcast? Please comment about it...
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