whatever, i have a different theory somewhat backed up by logic. The fact that Europe is sony's most loyal territory. Sony chose to launch in USA and Japan only because:

1)They had to get a good foothold in the usa because the 360 is quite popular in america

2)They had to launch in Japan. It's its home territory, they also love nintendo but because they couldn't give a rats ass about the 360, Japan got a reduced amount of numbers while america got more.

3)Sony obviously was less concerned with europe because they believe they are more loyal to them. If they didn't believe this, they would have launched in Europe instead of america. Or at least have launched it in europe close to the japan/usa launch dates. But considering they waited they know europe is more loyal to them then other territory's.

And hopefully sales will prove that

Also the fact that Japan loves rpg's and crazy fun games (Nintendo, yet playstation also excels in the rpg sector). While america loves up FPS and online play (Xbox 360, yet sony has made strides in that direction with Resistance and the playstation network). But in Europe, we tend to love all sorts of games from football games to rpg's to action and whatever else (and playstation is always known for its range of games. While nintendo has been known to make games solely for the limp wristed and softly spoken while xbox is stereotypically known to bring out mostly FPS's)

And im surprised but not surprised about Sony choosing HMV above GAME. GAME is soley a videogame shop. But HMV gets more customers. I prefer it that way though, cos when i use my HMV card to buy my ps3, i can use the points for more things than just games.

Do sony think people in europe are dogs? People buy the best deal for their money they don't care about anything else.

Even if people can afford 425pds it's not about that it's the principle.

Blu-ray doesn't mean jack over here, I don't know a soul who owns a player. So that isn't going to help their ps3.

People want good games reasonable price which=xbox 360 at the moment,

you guys from the UK better get down to HMV and do your pre-orders because they will likely get the largest number of consoles.

What the hell kind of drugs are you on?? Japan is Sony's base of power, not Europe. Sony routinely screws over Europe with late launches, high prices and product shortages. You don't build a loyal customer base under those conditions.

Now that Jim Ryan is gone just need to remove Herman Hulst from his position! And maybe give Shuhei the position he deserved.

This gen hasn't been the best for games, last gen consoles are still out there and now there's been talk of the PS6 and Xbox Two for a year or so. Many games this gen will be ported to next gen and the cycle will continue. The re-release of the Neo Geo AES+, games on cartridge for £70 ($95), gaming is going back in time. Gaming has gone pricing mad with the high cost of games, consoles and controllers. The men and women at the top are clueless.

It’s always interesting to hear behind-the-scenes stories like this, especially involving veterans like Shuhei Yoshida and leadership figures like Jim Ryan. That said, there are usually multiple sides to decisions at that level. It could be less about not “listening” and more about differences in long-term vision for PlayStation. Yoshida played a huge role in shaping the brand, so whatever the reason, his impact is undeniable.

If true, and I'm inclined to believe it is, it goes to show that Sony lost their way when they became more western/didn't respect the PlayStation origin story. Andrew House and Jack Tretton did great work, but they also didn't try to fundamentally change the PlayStation DNA. Ryan oversaw the death of Japan Studio and a live service direction.

I already figured this, good lord imagine if Shuhei took over instead, would've been a platinum era 😩

I miss the first three generations of PlayStation. The way they turned PS3 around, we knew they meant business. We were all worried for a bit there around launch. Eventually from 2008 they started shifting slowly. But since Yoshida was fired, it's never been the same. Still enjoy my PS5 daily. I got a backlog dating back to PS2 lol So I'm fine but new games aren't as appealing anymore.

It seems like we were thrown on to the worst timeline possible where everything is too expensive and the wrong people were put in positions that makes the world a shitty place. We could have had Shu as the head of PS but we got the shitty alternative. Same goes for everyone in power around the world. Doesn’t matter the company or country the majority of us got the shitty picks and the world is declining like never before. I do think PS can come out of this because of their studios, talent and IP but they need someone more in touch with gamers leading things like Shu was. They’re still the best place for console gaming imo but it could be much better than it is especially without the massive live service failures. The rest of the world I have a lot less hope for right now. Hopefully the pendulum swings back towards the good ole days but I’m preparing for the worst.

There goes illuminati distraction story

So now there's certifiable proof that Ryan was in fact "fired", as opposed to when it was first announced that he "retired", in order to save face.

There's another guy who recently "retired" as CEO of another large gaming company, after doing a dismantling job as lead for well over a decade.

seems legit, the business man, fires the one who has ideas to move the business forward.

Jim Ryan is the reason why we are entering year 6 since the PS5 launch and many of us don't feel like the PS5 has gotten started as yet.

I hope going forward, we will see a return to form.