Sony to limit number of 3D TVs sold in Australia

During this year's Electronic Entertainment Expo in June, Sony took the opportunity to unveil the latest effort in its 3D gaming push--a PlayStation-branded 3D HDTV bundle.

At the time, Sony's Jack Tretton revealed that the 24-inch display will let two players see two entirely different things on the same screen, effectively changing split-screen multiplayer as gamers know it. Sony announced that the TV would ship with a pair of 3D glasses, an HDMI cable, and a copy of Insomniac's Resistance 3 (this was later changed to MotorStorm: Apocalypse). Sony priced the bundle at US$499.

Now, it appears that Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCEA) will be limiting the number of the displays sold in Australia. The publisher confirmed to GameSpot AU that Harvey Norman will be the exclusive stockist for the PlayStation-branded 3D Display when it launches in November.

In an earlier interview with The Age newspaper, SCEA managing director Michael Ephraim said the reason for the limited stock was to test whether there is a market for the TV in Australia.

"We really wanted to test it before we made a big commitment, because it's not like a memory stick kind of product; there are long lead times on manufacturing, high price," Ephraim told The Age. "If it goes extremely well, we'll keep supporting it. It is a high-ticket-price item, and there is 3D TVs out there. We just want to make sure there's a market for it."

SCEA confirmed that the PlayStation-branded 3D Display will launch in Australia "in early November," exclusively to Harvey Norman stores, with a recommended retail price (RRP) of A$699.95. The model will be sold with two sets of 3D glasses.