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What can only be a last minute stunt for the desperate camp of Sony. The PlayStation 3 went on sale in Europe recently and as the clock closed in on mid-night Sony UK boss Ray Maguire decided to give away some 46″ Bravia Televisions.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz a spokesperson for the high street retailer said, “The stunt of giving away over £200,000 worth HDTVs, though great for the fans that managed to get one, struck me as being slightly unnecessary in the greater scheme of things - especially as it may have encouraged some of the more cynical media to think of it as a last-minute attempt to bolster queues and PR coverage.”

A few blogs and the press are talking about the stunt, but I don’t think it’s to the level that Sony Europe thought they would get. The stunt does certainly come across as forced and a last minute effort to boost sales of the ill PlayStation 3. I think the $200,000 could have been better spent on other PR/marketing initiatives and not wasted on the televisions. How many people are going to blog about the PS3 because they got a TV out of the deal? The ROI isn’t going to be to high for the launch this past weekend.