PS3 launch fails across the pond; Where is your Phil Harrison now?

Last night was the midnight launch of the PlayStation 3 for our overseas brethren in France and England, and the crowds that turned out were dismal, to say the least. One of the Robot's many international amigos, Jeremy, sent in a tip with a number of links to official reports of just how poorly Sony was received in London and Paris, and while most of them are en français, that last link was written in the King's English.

Apparently one tenth of the people expected to be there actually showed up, and Sony was left with literal barges full of their newest console, at least in the land of wine and cheese. I guess this sort of thing shouldn't come as a surprise to anyone who has walked into a Best Buy here in God's Chosen Country any time recently, but with so few people willing to shell out the tremendous amount of euros necessary to acquire one of Sony's black beauties, one has to wonder about the future of the console in the Olde World.

Since I absolutely had to get a first hand account, I called one of my British friends a few moments ago, and according to him he spent all night pranging out and trying desperately to avoid this "chav bird who's grown keen on 'im", whatever the hell that means ...

Wait, what was my point again? 

(Editor's Note: How could I make this post without using that picture? -- Nex)