PS3 in Europe before Christmas

Sony will delay the release of its new PlayStation 3 videogame console until early November, the president of its game unit said on Wednesday.

But it will launch the new consoles simultaneously in the United States, Japan and Europe, the company said.

Ken Kutaragi, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, the company's game division, made the announcement at the firm's annual PlayStation business briefing to software licencees.

It had previously been assumed that Sony would stagger its release dates in order to better meet demand in each market, as it did with its previous consoles and the PlayStation Portable. European gamers had not expected to see the PS3 much before next summer.

Japanese newspapers reported earlier that the company would delay the launch of the PS3 because consumer electronics makers and movie companies were unable to reach an agreement on the development of the copy protection technology for the Blu-ray Disc drive, which is used in the console.

The PS3 launch has been the subject of heavy speculation in the industry as expectations are high for the powerful machine, which will feature cutting-edge technology in its DVD player, processors and graphics. Microsoft launched its rival next-generation console, the Xbox 360, in December last year.