It's here! European gamers finally grab their PS3

In the wee hours of this morning (no pun intended), die hard gamers finally managed to get their hands on the UK PS3 at the official Virgin Megastore launch in London. Some had queued for up to 2 days for Sony's midnight launch across Europe.

First in line was 17 year-old graphic design student Ritatsu Thomas who has been at the store since 5am, March 21. Despite the marathon wait, the 17-year-old from South London planned to go home and play with his new purchase rather than sleep. He said: “It feels excellent. I might have to play on it when I get home because I’m so excited I wouldn’t be able to sleep.” He said he had become “great friends” with the other people in the queue and planned to organise on-line PS3 gaming tournaments with them.

With over 100 people attending the launch, Virgin kept them entertained in the Oxford street store's basement, with DJ's, breakdancers, and graffiti artists. The hardcore gaming fans were also rewarded with the surprise Sony announcement, just minutes before midnight, that the first 125 would each receive a 46-inch flat panel television worth £2,000. Jonathan Fargher, spokesman for Sony UK, said: “It’s ultimately a thank you. “We wanted to repay the patience and loyalty of all the people who have waited the extra few months for the European launch. And we obviously want them to enjoy PS3 in the way it’s meant to be shown off - and that’s on high definition television.” The PS3 debut was postponed by around four months but was still tipped to be one of the UK's biggest ever console launches. It 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. Virgin Megastore said it had booked extra security and free taxis to whisk gamers home and avoid them falling prey to muggers.

The first 150 gamers who picked up a PS3 at Virgin also received a free copy of Resistance: Fall of Man, but this would not do much to soften Sony's initial price of £425. Others have dispelled 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. Meanwhile, HMV has announced it will hand out free copies of Virtua Tennis 3 to the first 150 people buying a PS3 from their Oxford Street store, for today's 7.30am launch.