Sony To Give Away Tens Of Thousands Of PS3 Consoles

Following on from their success earlier this year Sony has decided to giveaway tens of thousands of PS3 Playstations in an effort to boost sales of their Bravia TV range prior to the Olympics.

The move which is being billed as "The Biggest Sales Promotion for the World's Biggest Sporting Event" will see Sony go head to head with official Games sponsors Panasonic and Samsung who between them are tipped to be spending over $8 million dollars on marketing activities during the games period.

The Sony promotion which was borne out of a similar promotion earlier this year that resulted in Sony grabbing 40% of the flat panel TV market over the December 07/January 08 period led to Sony suffering stock shortages.

The new promotion which is worth over $20 million will also result in Sony Computer Entertainment getting a big lift up against the Xbox and the Nintendo Wii as they will be able to count the PS3 giveaways as sales according to research group GFK. t is estimated that Sony could end up giving away 35,000 40GB PS3 consoles worth a recommended retail price of $699.

According to Sony insiders the promotion has been planned for several months and will apply to Sony Bravia models W3100 Series models, including the new V4000 and W4000 Series models. Also included will be the X3100 Bravia models.

 "High definition TV sales are going to sky-rocket in July," said Carl Rose, Managing Director of Sony Australia. "Whether it's getting ready to see our heroes go for gold in Beijing, watching AFL's finest as the 2008 season hots up or experiencing major blockbuster movies and games on Blu-ray, there is a wealth of exhilarating Full HD content waiting for you."

Managing Director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia and New Zealand, Michael Ephraim said, "Those who haven't experienced the power of PLAYSTATION®3 and the new world of HD entertainment don't know what they're missing out on. Through the combined power of the two Sony companies, we're giving 35,000 Australians the chance to find out exactly what tens of millions of people around the world are already experiencing for themselves." Rose continued, "There's never been a better time for Australians to immerse themselves in the Full HD experience. To celebrate this, we've created this exclusive Sony package across our full HD BRAVIA LCD TV range – including five new models".

The promotion which only runs for 31days during July is set to finish on July 31st and is designed to suck up any potential flat panel sales in the run up to the Olympics a move that could hurt other TV vendors in particular vendors like LG who are struggling in the flat panel TV market. Customers who have purchased a Sony Bravia TV have two weeks to register their claim at www.sony.com.au/ PS3countdown.


Customers will also need to post proof of purchase and a serial number to claim their PS3. Every time a consumer registers a purchase, an online counter will automatically show  many PS3s are left. The official website goes live on Tuesday 1 July and Sony was unable to provide official comment today.