Ster-Kinekor Games has just announced that Sony's PlayStation 3 (PS3) will be on sale in South Africa from 23 March 2007 — in conjunction with the console's launches in the UK and Australasia.
An expected one million PS3 units will be made available during the initial launch period.
"2007 promises to launch one of the most exciting eras in terms of the future delivery of entertainment and media content for consumers. PS3's intelligence & power will once again prove why PlayStation has always been at the forefront of progressive gaming and the best in home entertainment quality," says David Hadassin, CEO of Ster-Kinekor Games.
Apart from being able to play games, the PS3 also acts as a standalone high-end Blu-ray DVD player — the next generation of DVD created for high-definition TV systems — and comes with a 60GB hard drive (which provides storage space for personal photos, videos and music), has more speed than the best PC available commercially and also links to the internet for downloads and gaming interaction.
The launch line-up of game titles has been confirmed for the PS3 and includes titles such as 'Resistance: Fall of Man', 'MotorStorm', 'Genji: Days of the Blade', and 'Ridge Racer 7'.
In addition to games on disc, a range of fully-featured downloadable games will debut on the PlayStation Network. These will include 'Tekken: Dark Resurrection' and 'Gran Turismo HD Concept' — the fully-featured PS3 debut of the best-selling franchise 'Gran Turismo', realised with full HD (1080p) visual quality.
Also available on the PlayStation Network will be brainteasers such as 'Go! Sudoku' and 'Go! Puzzle', and innovative games such as 'Blast Factor' and 'flOw', designed exclusively for the PlayStation 3.
Selected Sony movie titles are also already available in the Blu-ray format.
Responding to a major retail and consumer demand, it has been confirmed that initially only the 60GB model would be available, with the 20GB model to follow later in the year dependant on demand.
Concurrent with the launch, a new System Update to further enhance the entertainment potential of PS3 will be issued.