PlayStation 2 European debut delayed

Sony's PlayStation 2 (PS2) video games console will go on sale in Europe a month later than expected because of strong demand in Japan and the US.

Sony Europe confirmed today that the PS2 would go on sale in Europe in November. It will be released in the UK on 24 November, priced at £299. The delay is understood to be due to the need to meet US shipping targets.

US retail giants stopped taking pre-orders for the consoles earlier this week amid fears that there would not be enough peripherals to match orders. Sony plans to ship 620,000 consoles to the US.

Major consoles in the UK and Europe are often delayed as manufacturers prioritise production for the US and Japanese markets, both of which use examples produced to the NTSC-standard. The European market requires units produced to the PAL standard.

UK retailers are advising would-be purchasers to pre-order consoles as stock is expected to be limited in the run-up to Christmas. A spokesman for Sony said pre-ordering was the only way to guarantee buying a PS2 before Christmas.

The new device sold almost one million units in Japan during its first three days in March.

Since its launch in September 1995, more than 5.6 million of the PS2's predecessor - the PlayStation - have been sold in the UK, according to research company ChartTrack.