Microsoft crashing Sony's PlayStation 3 launch parties

While the gaming world watches sales and availability of Sony's PlayStation 3 very closely, competitor Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) is constantly trying to deflate the wind from Sony's sales by apparently crashing its launch parties around the world with its Xbox 360 game console along with vivid demonstrations of the large price gap between the two game consoles.

Sony is in the midst of launching the PlayStation 3 console in Europe, Australia and New Zealand -- but according to reports, the initial furor Sony saw in the U.S. last November upon the PlayStation 3 launch is not happening in other parts of the world. To top off soft initial sales at launch time in different global markets, Microsoft is adding insult to injury by having (directly or indirectly) jabs poked at Sony in some pretty memorable ways.

Take Paris, where a waterside PS3 launch venue saw a giant boat float by with "Xbox loves you" draped over the side. In Australia, the retailer Gameplanet had a nice Xbox 360 display surrounded by quite a few cases of beer to demonstrate the cost difference between the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. Microsoft seems to have gotten pretty inventive with its competitive marketing here, which is odd considering Microsoft's operating system marketing is decently pathetic most of the time. But when it comes to marketing its gaming console, it's quite a different story.

[Disclosure: I own MSFT shares as of 3-26-07]