Sony PS3 Delayed Until Late 2006, Early 2007

[Jeremy Charette]

<div class='os_post_top_link'><a href='http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117939258?categoryid=18&cs=1&s=h&p=0' target='_blank'>http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117939258?categoryid=18&cs=1&s=h&p=0</a><br /><br /></div><i>"Sony's new PlayStation 3 was widely expected to be introduced this spring, but will be delayed as the company fine-tunes the chips that are crucial to the success of the console's Blu-ray function. The PlayStation 3 --- which is being called "the poor man's Blue-ray" --- is vital to Sony's plans because it plays Blu-ray discs as well as videogames. Sony will roll out the PS3 by year end, in time for the holidays. If PS3 "delivers what everyone thinks it will, the game is up," Stringer boasts...Stringer, and just about every other media exec, studio chief and retailer, fears a Betamax-VHS redux -- a format war that would irritate and confuse consumers. After all, if folks don't know which player to buy, they might walk out empty-handed. "If that happens," one top entertainment exec quips, "I think someone from Wal-Mart is going to take a gun and shoot one of them."...One strange twist in the battle is that Toshiba is working with Sony and IMB to produce the cell chip that's the foundation of Blu-ray -- a topsy-turvy scenario that only serves to underscore the contortions Stringer finds himself performing these days. "One day my enemy is my enemy," he says. "The next day the enemy is my friend.""</i><br /><br /> <img src="http://www.digitalmediathoughts.com/images/ps3-close.jpg" /> <br /><br />The PS3 delays are unsurprising, but it'll certainly be interesting to see what the final hardware can produce in terms of graphics and gameplay. I think the 360 will be able to match, if not beat the PS3 by the time it finally comes out, if for no other reason than the fact that 360 developers will have had a huge head start, and already be working on 2nd and 3rd generation titles. The rest of this article is very interesting, and a worthwhile read. That last quote is quite telling. At the end of the day, all of these companies are after the same thing: your money. When the dust settles, they'll all end up going wherever the customers are.

[phillypocket]

Maybe I'm missing something, but where did you get the date of late 2006 - early 2007?

[Jeremy Charette]

"Sony's new PlayStation 3 was widely expected to be introduced this spring, but will be delayed as the company fine-tunes the chips that are crucial to the success of the console's Blu-ray function. The PlayStation 3 --- which is being called "the poor man's Blue-ray" --- is vital to Sony's plans because it plays Blu-ray discs as well as videogames. Sony will roll out the PS3 by year end, in time for the holidays."

It's also been widely reported that Sony is not planning a worldwide launch like Microsoft did with the Xbox 360. They will most likely launch in Japan, followed by a North American launch 2-6 months later. That puts them into Q4 2006 or Q1 2007.

[Kacey Green]

they promised me this thing would work with my toaster, where's the toaster, it it delayed too? (cell technology)

[Jason Dunn]

Interesting stuff. Man, Sony really messed up big time with this delay. Q1 2007 for North America seems very likely. The fanboys must be ripping out their hair in denial. :lol:

[Darius Wey]

Q1 2007 for North America seems very likely.

And then probably Q3-Q4 2007 for the rest of the world. Man, what a rip.

I'm looking forward to receiving my Xbox 360 in 15 days time. At least the controller isn't arthritic. ;)

[Phoenix]

I think I heard MS say at one point that "the company to sell 10 million game boxes first, wins". If that's true, considering that MS has been working out their parts supply issues for the 360, I don't see how Sony could reach this goal before MS. Maybe they could, but at this point, if what's being said about PS3 availability is true, I don't see how.

If it honestly takes Sony until late this year to early next year to get the PS3 shipped to the States, and maybe even later to the rest of the world, man, good luck.

Forget next gen games, by mid-'07 onward, MS could be well into designing a third-generation Xbox.

The longer Sony delays, while the faster MS progresses with their designs, means that MS could wind up finding themselves one whole generation ahead of Sony technologically, both in terms of the hardware and games.

[bluemax]

I hope Sony's PS3 does as well in the US as the Xbox 360 did in Japan.

On the other hand, considering Sony's rootkit attack on all PC users, I don't think there is anything Sony makes that I really need or want.

Bill B