Sony announced that it will be delaying shipping its new PS3 system in Europe and other countries that use the PAL format. These countries will not get the highly anticipated system until March 2007, while the US and Japan are still on track for a November release. Citing problems with components for the Blu-Ray drive that the PS3 uses, Sony is catering to their largest markets. These delays could brew trouble for the PS3, because the Nintendo's Wii is coming out this autumn. (World wide release dates and price points may be finalized this week.)

Although Microsoft's XBox 360 has a year head start on both Nintendo and Sony, they have their own difficulties with Europe and its long overdue release of Vista, the follow up to Windows XP. Shortly after the Sony announcement, Microsoft said that due to anti-trust problems it may push back the European release of its new operating system. This notion of Vista being held up by the EU executive commission was quickly rejected by an EU spokesperson. Microsoft made similar comments eight years ago concerning the US launch of Windows XP when it faced a similar anti-trust suit from the US government. After all the rhetoric has died down, the bottom line is that it looks like European consumers will have to sit and watch as the other parts of the world get first dibs.