It must be National Games Industry Bold Claims Day today, as head of things at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe David Reeves goes on the record about the PAL launch date of the PlayStation 3 console.

Speaking at the Entertainment and Leisure Software Publishers Association games summit in London this afternoon, Reeves took it upon himself to tackle the thorny issue of when European gamers and retailers can expect to see PS3 hardware and games on shelves.

"I like to think the PS3 will launch in Europe around the same time as Kutaragi-san has already mentioned - spring 2006," he said, hinting that for the first time ever, SCEI is actually planning a global hardware launch.

Although gamers and retailers may scoff openly at the idea of a launch so soon (especially given the nine months wait for PSP) perhaps we might see a change in SCEI policy to the benefit of us all.