According to reports out of Europe, Sony Computer Entertainment UK sales director Kevin Jowett has left the company just weeks before the Euro launch of the PlayStation 3.

According to Next-Gen Euro media partner MCV, Jowett resigned to pursue other undisclosed opportunities outside of the games industry. The European launch of the PS3 is set for March 23, with product already on the way from China.

Jowett had been sales director since 1998, and has worked on retailer allocation of PlayStation hardware.

MCV said that Jowett’s departure would be a “blow” to Sony’s UK operations, citing a “leading games buyer” who called the timing of the resignation “absolutely incredible.” The buyer said that the move could disrupt retailer negotiations regarding the PS3 launch.

The buyer added, “Obviously, Sony is a big organization and there will be people there who can fill Kevin’s position. But this can’t be helpful to them.”

At last week’s D.I.C.E. Summit in Las Vegas, SCE Worldwide Studios boss Phil Harrison confirmed that there would be 1 million PS3 hardware units available in Europe on launch day.

Sony had shipped 2 million units total in North America and Japan as of the second week of January.