PS3 delayed, as expected

[Ace Pace]

The Inqy

SONY CEO, Howard Stringer, has confirmed that the PS3 which was supposed to be in the shops soon, will not now be around until the end of the year.

In an interview with well-known technology rag Variety, Stringer said the delay is due to a hold-up with chips crucial to the success of the console's Blu-ray functions. He said Sony will roll out the PS3 by the end of the year, in time for the Yule-tide binge.

Stringer wants the PS3 to be a vehicle for Blu-ray discs as well as videogames. This suggests the PS3's success may not as important to Sony as getting Blu-Ray off the ground.

It seems the cunning plan is to make the PS3 the killer platform that will knock out HD-DVD and install Blu-ray as the dominant video standard. µ

Raise your hand if you're suprised.

[Flagg]

The Inqy

SONY CEO, Howard Stringer, has confirmed that the PS3 which was supposed to be in the shops soon, will not now be around until the end of the year.

In an interview with well-known technology rag Variety, Stringer said the delay is due to a hold-up with chips crucial to the success of the console's Blu-ray functions. He said Sony will roll out the PS3 by the end of the year, in time for the Yule-tide binge.

Stringer wants the PS3 to be a vehicle for Blu-ray discs as well as videogames. This suggests the PS3's success may not as important to Sony as getting Blu-Ray off the ground.

It seems the cunning plan is to make the PS3 the killer platform that will knock out HD-DVD and install Blu-ray as the dominant video standard. µ

Raise your hand if you're suprised.

I'm glad they're finally being honest. I was getting pretty pissed off at this constant "Spring 2006" bullshit they kept spewing.

[Arrow]

But is the Inquirer! They're always wrong. We won't see the PS3 until 2007!

Honestly, if the PS3 ships this year, I'll be surprised. And think they're going to have very hard time dealing with an installed base of 360 users, and going up against the Revolution's much lower cost. Sure, they'll have garenteed sales from the diehard fans, but most others are going to think twice, especially given its going to have a highest price tag of the three consoles.

[Flagg]

But is the Inquirer! They're always wrong. We won't see the PS3 until 2007!

Honestly, if the PS3 ships this year, I'll be surprised. And think they're going to have very hard time dealing with an installed base of 360 users, and going up against the Revolution's much lower cost. Sure, they'll have garenteed sales from the diehard fans, but most others are going to think twice, especially given its going to have a highest price tag of the three consoles.

I wouldn't be too sure about that. While 360 will have a definate advantage in price, and the fact that it will have been out for a year (at least) when the PS3 ships, sony will have the advantage of putting out the only console to use next gen DVD technology, and it will sell very well in Japan regardless of the price. Nintendo is still pretty much stereotyped as a kiddy platform in many circles and I don't think the Revolution will have a bigger impact on American PS3 sales than the Gamecube did. I could be wrong, though.

[Arrow]

I wouldn't be too sure about that. While 360 will have a definate advantage in price, and the fact that it will have been out for a year (at least) when the PS3 ships, sony will have the advantage of putting out the only console to use next gen DVD technology, and it will sell very well in Japan regardless of the price. Nintendo is still pretty much stereotyped as a kiddy platform in many circles and I don't think the Revolution will have a bigger impact on American PS3 sales than the Gamecube did. I could be wrong, though.

If Blu-ray flops, and my gut feeling is that it will, the PS3 goes from being a "media-center" system, to being just a very expensive game system. Both the 360 and the Rev will have the price advantages. For adults buying games, it make finacial sense to go with 360, and for parents getting something the kids, they'll go with Rev (never underestimate kiddy sales). The PS3 will have the appearance of a luxury's luxury; kinda like the true 1080p HD sets its supposed to take full advantage of (I'll believe that when I see it).

As for the Japanese market, you're probably right. But western markets are going to be a completely different story.

As for me, I'm not too concerned over who "wins". I'm a PC gamer first and formost. But I really, really want to see Blu-ray crash and burn.

[Spanky The Dolphin]

If Blu-ray flops, and my gut feeling is that it will,

Actually the general expert consensus is that Blu-ray will win.

[Flagg]

If Blu-ray flops, and my gut feeling is that it will,

Actually the general expert consensus is that Blu-ray will win.

It makes a kind of logical sense that it would succede. I mean the first generation Blu-ray players are going to be about $1,000 USD, and there is no way in hell the PS3 is going to retail for a grand. If you figure HD-DVD players are going to be in that price range initially then factor in the people who are going to buy the PS3 regardless, then Blu-ray has a distinct edge.

Edit: Looks like I was wrong on the price range of the initial HD-DVD players. The 2 intial ones will be $500 and $700. Still probably more expensive than the PS3 but odds are the prices will drop by the time of the release. I still think that the fact that the PS3 should be in the $400-$500 price range and will be a de-facto Blu-ray player will give Sony the decing edge, but it kind of blows my previous argument to shit.

[Captain tycho]

So is Microsoft going to push back the release of Halo 3 in order to counter the PS3? Not that I was seriously expecting it this spring anyways.

[Icehawk]

Halo 3 never had any sort of release date in the first place, Bill Gates just boasted about releasing it alongside PS3 to stir interest and such. Hell their hasnt even been a lick of official info about it provided by Bungie either.

I doubt it will even be coming out this year. If anything I'd say their might be brief teaser or something shown at E3 this spring but I doubt it will get released this year.

[The Kernel]

If Sony is very lucky, they might succeed in a limited release for Xmas 2006. This release would either be in Japan only in small numbers, or (if Sony wanted to be really shameful) as a worldwide launch with token numbers of units.

Really, there is no conceivable way that Sony will be able to get a decent supply of PS3's out this year.

[Arrow]

If Blu-ray flops, and my gut feeling is that it will,

Actually the general expert consensus is that Blu-ray will win.

Despite the fact Blu-ray players cost more and don't have much of a realistic advantage over HD-DVD? And it requires brand new production infrastructure? Sorry, I have to disagree with the experts on this.

[Xon]

So is Microsoft going to push back the release of Halo 3 in order to counter the PS3? Not that I was seriously expecting it this spring anyways.

The idea is that Halo3 will be released sometime in the timeframe of the Halo movie. Which the movie has been slated at 2007 sometime

[LongVin]

If Sony is very lucky, they might succeed in a limited release for Xmas 2006. This release would either be in Japan only in small numbers, or (if Sony wanted to be really shameful) as a worldwide launch with token numbers of units.

Really, there is no conceivable way that Sony will be able to get a decent supply of PS3's out this year.

And if they do the superlimited worldwide release you follow the rule of two when pre ordering: One to keep, one for Ebay.

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Screw keeping one! Get as many as you can afford, sell them all, and then get one later when they're available at MSRP and there are something other than shitty launch titles to play.

[Lazarus]

I think old Bill said that Microsoft were intending to release Halo 3 on the PS3 release date, although he may have been joking...
From what I've seen of the Revolution, it looks really retarded, not enough to make me even give the console a second look, even without the kiddie appeal of Nintendo.
I think there are a lot of die hard PS2 owners out there who will refuse to buy a 360, and will wait for a PS3 regardless of the waiting time. Given their extra development time, I would think Sony would be able to avoid some of the potholes which Microsoft fell into concerning getting the console in the stores, not to mention slightly newer technology.
Hopefully though Sony will be able to create something that will rival Xbox live, else they really are pretty screwed. I'm not a fan of live myself, maybe Sony can come up with something...different?

[SirNitram]

I think old Bill said that Microsoft were intending to release Halo 3 on the PS3 release date, although he may have been joking...

Bungie clarified this was meant 'philosophically'. Which is apparently Corp-Speek for 'Total bullshit'.

[Xon]

I think old Bill said that Microsoft were intending to release Halo 3 on the PS3 release date, although he may have been joking...

Bungie clarified this was meant 'philosophically'. Which is apparently Corp-Speek for 'Total bullshit'.

Or they where betting the PS3 would be delayed enough

[Arthur_Tuxedo]

Regardless of whether they release Halo 3 before or simultaneous with the launch of the PS3, Sony's got some serious fucking problems on their hands. Let's assume that a PS3 can be produced for the same price when it launches that the X360 is being produced for now. The X360 will still be cheaper to make than the PS3 by the time the PS3 launches, and probably by a significant amount. That's assuming that they're equally expensive to make from launch, which we know to be false. Microsoft could easily slash the price of the 360 when Sony launches its console.

Assuming that Sony copies Microsoft and launches a barebones console for $299, the X360 could be cut to $249. Between price-conscious parents and gamers, more and better games for the 360, and equal or better graphics on the 360 (the PS3 may have more theoretical horsepower, but it will be years before devs are able to utilize it well enough to have more usable power than the X360), Sony's got a hard sell, and that's assuming that they make the $299 price point. All signs indicate that they can't and won't make that price point.

Die-hard Sony fanboys with hundreds of dollars to spare and gotta-have-it early adopters won't save it, either. To someone who browses forums, it may seem like these people are a large minority, but they're actually a vanishingly small percentage of consumers. People buying it as a Blu-Ray player the way so many bought a PS2 as a DVD player won't save it, either. When the PS2 came out, DVD had been around for 4 years (IIRC), had no competing format, did not require hideously expensive TVs that less than 10% of the population had to be fully enjoyed, and everyone wanted a DVD player. When the PS3 comes out, very few people will want a Blu-Ray player, mostly because of the format war, the HDTV requirement, and the fact that they just upgraded to DVD a few years ago and are still content with it.

I expect the first few hundred thousand units to sell like hot cakes due to fanboys and early adopters, but after that, I expect to see unsold PS3 boxes clogging the shelves.