London - Hardcore computer game fans queued on Thursday to be among the first owners of a Sony PlayStation 3 games console ahead of its launch in Europe, the Middle East and Australasia.
Sony and major retailers have talked up the long-delayed launch, organising special late-night events for those who can't wait, but there has been speculation that the PS3's hefty price tag might deter consumers.
The PS3 has been outsold by rival Nintendo's Wii machine and Microsoft's XBox 360 in the United States.
Outside the Virgin Megastore's flagship outlet in London, diehard gamers had camped for 36 hours for the chance to grab the first machines off the shelves at the stroke of midnight.
Steve Lynn, the Megastore's senior public relations manager, said that the consoles "are in a secure location within the building locked up waiting for midnight".
The PS3 was originally scheduled for worldwide release in November, but production problems meant it was only made available in Japan and the United States, where there were punch-ups and at least one shooting at frenzied launch events.
The Virgin Megastore in London said it had booked extra security and free taxis to whisk gamers home and avoid them falling prey to muggers.
In France, a special boat was due to ferry 1 000 PS3s along the Seine to the foot of the Eiffel Tower, where enthusiasts will brave the chilly Parisian night to get their hands on a console.
Australian gamers will be the first outside the United States and Japan to experience the PS3, with a 13:00 GMT launch at the Myer department store in Sydney.
10 000 pre-ordered
A Sony spokesperson said 10 000 consoles - Sony's answer to the challenge thrown down by the Wii and the XBox 360 - had been pre-ordered in Australia.
The PS3 does not come cheap, costing €599 in Europe and £425 in Britain.
In the United States, Nintendo's cheaper Wii console outsold the new Sony in February by more than two-to-one, according to the NPD Group consultancy.
Some gaming fanatics were not buying into the hype, criticising Sony's decision to sell only the top-of-the-line 60-gigabyte version of the PS3 in Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Australasia.
Chris Stead, former editor of Australian GamePro, said he would not rush to buy the console, which retails for $1 000 (US$808) in Australia, even though he was impressed with features such as a Blu-ray DVD player.
Stead said the gaming community was concerned the PS3 lacked "backward compatibility", meaning they could not use it to play games purchased for the PS1 and PS2.
"The backward compatibility of the version they're selling here is much lower than in the US and Japan, so we're being asked to pay top dollar for an inferior product," he said.
"You're going to have to download patches and fixes to be able to play your PS1 and PS2 games and a lot of people aren't going to bother."