PlayStation 3 to be available in March

Dubai: Sony's new video game console, the PlayStation 3, will go on sale in the Middle East in March 2007, the company officials confirmed to Gulf News.

The Japanese electronics firm sold 88,400 units of the PS3 in the first two days of the Japan launch, clearing out most stocks.

Colin Thomas, marketing manager for the Sony Gulf's PlayStation division, admitted a similar scenario could be on the cards in local stores.

"One of the reasons that we delayed the launch until March is to get larger quantities of day one stock, but the reality is we can never get enough to satisfy demand," he said.

Thomas could not confirm the expected volume of consoles assigned to the Middle East, saying the exact figure will not be known until weeks before sales begin.

Although official PS3 sales will not start until March, Thomas admitted Japanese units have already crept into the Middle East market and are being sold for up to Dh6,000.

Although a Dirham figure has not been release, the console's 20 gig model is expected retail at $499.

"On day one we like to focus on solid partners that we know will sell directly to consumers and not to look to make excess profits by re-selling them," said Thomas.

"We don't want people to be working with some unscrupulous traders....

"We're trying to educate people that if you buy before March 2007, it's unofficial and there are a lot of problems that go with that."