Conflicting signals have continued to emanate from Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) regarding the length of time the current PlayStation 3 “starter park” bundle will continue to be offered for, with Sony UK officials insisting there is no time limit on the promotion.
Although Europe and other PAL territories did not receive a price cut at the same time as North America, the regions did instead get a
new bundle last month. In the UK, the official Starter Pack bundle maintained the launch price of £425 ($863) for the 60GB hard drive version of the console and added an additional Sixaxis controller and a choice of two free first party games.
Despite the 80GB hard drive version of the PlayStation 3 having
just been launched in the U.S., there are no plans for it to be released in PAL territories, despite Sony indications that the 60GB version would be phased out in North America.
Additional questions over the length of the Starter Pack promotion were raised when consumer website GameSpot Australia reported that the same bundle was
due to be withdrawn on August 31st.
E-mails sent in response to British PlayStation 3 owners complaining that they had bought their console just days before the bundle’s introduction indicated that it was merely “a summer promotion”. Echoing the wording of similar e-mails sent out in Australia, the message continued by claiming that the offer “will end on a predetermined date”.
Nevertheless, a SCEE UK spokesman has confirmed to Gamasutra that, “As far as the UK and Europe are concerned there is no time limit on the availability of the Starter Pack”.
