So yeah, a Philippine console launch on March 27... 2 months after I bought mine. Could've changed my mind if I knew back then that Sony will be launching it officially.

It's a big deal because:

1) We've never had any real console launch in the country. Nintendo doesn't seem to mind, and even though I've heard that the 360 is 'official' here, support/promotion is weak at best. I bet thousands will attend just to experience what it's like to have an official release, even if we're almost 4 years behind everyone else. At least we're not Brazil! ;-)

2) I've been using a Canadian account for my PSN (don't ask) all this time, and if the forum insider rumors are true, they'll also launch a local Playstation Network (or at least they should). Which means, I'll be "coming home" in a matter of days.

3) It's a vote of confidence: it's a given fact that many third world countries have a significant piracy problem, and while an official launch may not remotely slow it down, at least Sony now know how much gamers here are supporting the platform for years and they are willing to back us up.

4) There's also a rumored 3D gaming demo at the event. That's good enough for me. And I just bought an HDTV this month, so it's gonna be depressing as well.

5) Official support: Right now majority of malfunctioning consoles are being repaired by 3rd party shops, and even though they do a pretty decent job at fixing them, an official go-to shop is well worth the wait.


So what happens now? Time for some speculations:

1) Local ratings = could be bad. Only once or twice did I see a local article reporting about some official wanting to do something about violent video games -- negligible compared to what you guys have to put up with every day. It could be a problem later, when gaming really hits mainstream. In a country where contraceptives are still being debated and 'questionable' TV content is under scrutiny, this could become a catalyst for a total mature video game ban.

2) Local support = local Sony Computer Entertainment studio? Who knows, right? I mean, if a Philippine developer can get to help develop Uncharted 2, anything's possible. A local SCE studio may just happen, even in my dreams at least.

3) Nothing: maybe they're just selling the product. it's just business, after all.