Playstation 3 launches in the US, with a bang..

A week after the much more civilised Japanese launch of the Playstation 3, this weekend it was the United States turn. Reports in so far suggest shortages in most areas were experienced, and most stores only had from 5-30 consoles available. Like Japan, Sony is attempting to sell the PS3 in staged batches to prevent too much craziness.

The launch kicked off over there in New York City, with US celebrities Charlie Murphy, Ludacris, and D-Nice. They were also joined on stage by Sony SCEA president Kaz Harai and Sony CEO Howard Stringer. The first three people in line to receive the console received their PS3 totally free, a nice gesture on Sony's behalf. Elsewhere across the States similar events were staged, with celebrities in tow.

Along with the general good news, there were some few lowlights with reports of connected violence across the country. On Thursday three Playstation3 consoles were stolen by armed men at a GameStop store in California. In Oregan, apparently three gamers queuing in line were accosted by armed men and robbed of their PS3 money. In Connecticut, outside a Walmart store, two armed bandits held up a group of about 20 gamers, demanding cash. When one resisted he was shot twice. In Ohio, 5 PS3s were stolen from a local EB Games store when armed men entered the store and demanded them.

Due to these issues, warnings are actually going out telling potential buyers to be on the lookout, with many gamers carrying a big fat wad of cash around to purchase their PS3.

Sliced Comments: Only in America! Maybe we should coin a new term - LRC, or Launch Related Crime!