Sony to delay PS3?

by Blake Snow { Jan 10th 2006 at 10:00PM }

Yesterday, we reported on a PS3 developer's inquiry about the lack of completed systems. Now, according to UK based The Inquirer, the PS3 machines featured at CES last week were empty. In response to the optimistic stance that Sony can still deliver a completed system by this year's E3, the article contends: "Sources have told us that this rosy scenario is at odds with the work going on right now, expect debugging to go on for quite a while yet. Add minimum 4 months to the end date, and you have a possible release time. The long and short of it is, don't expect a PS3 before E3, and even that is a very long stretch."

Granted, this is still all speculation and nothing will be final until Sony announces an official release date. But if true, let's hope the creator of the Playstation can work a miracle and deliver the next-gen console on time.

[Thanks, Lost Alley; via PS3 Today]

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)

Alvin @ Jan 10th 2006 10:16PM

It's January and we haven't seen any playable demos of any PS3 games. Heck, nobody's even held the controller. Are we supposed to believe that this thing will be out by spring? I say Winter 2006 at the very earliest.

Patiently Awaiting @ Jan 10th 2006 10:19PM

The fact that the PS3's were empty kind of scares me, but its also comforting to know that they're perfecting the PS3 as much as possible and not rushing anything like Microsoft did. Either way is good for me, if it comes out in Spring like they say then thats good, I get my next gen gaming sooner, but I'd rather have a finished PS3 than a rushed PS3 (plus I'm gettin a job in summer, honestly, if it came out now, I couldn't afford it).

Mark In Austin @ Jan 10th 2006 10:24PM

Seeing an arrogant company cut-down would warm the cockles of my heart, I gotta say. I wonder how long Sony can go with delaying the announcement of a delay?

C'mon Sony.. you can do it! Say it with me: "2007!"

cheese @ Jan 10th 2006 10:35PM

BFD Mark. The PS3 will be out when it's ready, just like Halflife 2. Doesn't matter how long it takes, it'll be good when it comes out. I won't be surprised when it debuts with a hdd *standard* and a solid online component. You should be happy that MS is having to back off it's 3 million sold forecast, if what you say is true. The longer the PS3 gets delayed, the more polish they have time to apply. MS could have waited, especially when you consider the relatively strong xbox sales and AAA games that have come out recently.

fat_bunnies @ Jan 10th 2006 10:37PM

you do realize that they already have a playable verison of ut 2007 on ps3 dev kits, as in running on near 100% finished hardware, and from what ive seen it looks damn good. dont believe me pick up the lastest issue of PSM.

Brandon @ Jan 10th 2006 10:38PM

I am personally with the camp that says "better a high quality late product, than a low quality early product". I'd much rather wait for all the bugs to be worked out, than to get the system in my home to and be greeted with a few "surprises".

Besides, it had always been Microsoft's intention to be first, because they feel thats is why Sony dominates (although thats not really the case, if it was, dreamcast would be big now). Sony, still riding on the sales of PS2 slimline systems, would much rather start the next generation later, being that they still have life in the current system (some of the biggest titles havn't even been released yet, Final Fantasy XII comes to mind).

There is also the issue of creating an entirely new architecture with totally new elements. Keep in mind, it's the first device to actually use the Cell processor; so to a great extent, the testing they do now will aid in the work they do for other devices. It's also one of the first devices to include a blu-ray drive. With all of this bleeding-edge technology, its hard enough to make a device that works, let alone be stable and fool-proof enough to be released to consumers. Because the last thing you want to do is have to fix a problem after launch.

Jeff @ Jan 10th 2006 10:39PM

So when did Sony say the PS3 was coming out Spring 2006? I don't recall any official announcement to this effect. So what, Sony's now "delaying" the system beyond some "gaming journalist's" launch date speculation?

Big deal.

Jason W @ Jan 10th 2006 10:42PM

I hope this is not true. As a 360 owner who loves his system and wants MS to have someone to fight with so that the quality of the games goes up on both systems. I still plan to get a PS3 when it comes out just for the blue ray and sony first party games. Besides this may be true since sony isnt even making the 50 gig blue ray disc yet. I think ill remain a msfanboy until sony gets a unified online service but that doesnt mean i dont have love for the PS. Come on if i didnt have some I wouldnt have bought the last 2 systems and imported that damn psp. Man if i knew they just wanted it for movies with a game ever other month. oh well.

MrSparkle @ Jan 10th 2006 10:43PM

Does a display PS3 really need to have anything in it? Perhaps they don't have it ready. The Xbox 360 at last years E3 was not actually an Xbox 360, but actually PowerPC G5 processors, the ones their competitor, Apple, used to use.

Jason W @ Jan 10th 2006 10:43PM

Arch @ Jan 10th 2006 10:47PM

i constantly hear you guys saying how the 360 was rushed. get it through your heads. it WAS NOT rushed. it was ahead of schedual. the games were rushed yes, but the console was just on time. itst he other two that are late for the party.

another thing is that you guys are getting your hopes up for nothing. you keep saying the PS3 will be more polished. if by that you mean the games, then yes they will be. but not the system itself. the specs went official in december. that would only make this system a couple of months ahead of the 360 not years.

dont hype or you will be a hella dissapointed.

Mr. Sparkler @ Jan 10th 2006 10:52PM

Ps3 in 2007 for the US with 15-20 titles. By then the 360 will have 50+ games with developers getting more out of the console, should be interesting to see how the two com-pair when the Ps3 does launch.

Nossy @ Jan 10th 2006 10:57PM

Actually Sony have announced a Spring 06 release timeframe for the PS3 at E3 2005.

http://www.gamespot.com/news/2005/05/16/news_6124681.html

I believe the a few things that are holding up the PS3 would be the Blu-Ray drives and the development kits. If Sony has something they like to show, they'd already showed it, that is a working game that is controllable, in contrast to "Demos." Because as we all know, they could be "target" videos a la Madden Next Generation.

Regula Oblique @ Jan 10th 2006 10:58PM

Duh they're not gonna waste money to fill the DEMOed PS3 because it isn't done yet, but that says nothing about it coming out on time. Its funny how everyone thinks that sony is behind schedule just because microsoft has their xbox out, Sony was going to release PS3 at its own time even if Msoft never even said when they were releasing theirs. People just need to relax Ps3 is coming out when it does. Just because Msoft rushed to get out the door first does'nt mean Sony & Nintendo have to do the same. People need to remember Sony and Nintendo have always stuck to their same ways of doing things have a system out for atleast 6 years then release a new one. Msoft broke that rule by releasing a new system after 5 years which was too early because the xbox still has a whole lot of life in it since it came out later than the other 2. So whatever about this so called news, PS3 and Rev will be out when their out, and when they are ill have all 3 new next gen systems.

bd @ Jan 10th 2006 10:58PM

Yeah, PS2 has too much life on it: Kingdom Hearts 2, FFXII, Dirge of Cerberus and Killzone 2 are coming out. I bet that if Microsoft wouldn't have made the launch in 2005, the PS3 would have been out very likely in 2007. Not only that, HD-DVD out of the box would have been a lot cheaper to add, and Microsoft could have added it and still been out little before PS3.

Matthew Rader @ Jan 10th 2006 11:01PM

This is no surprise. The PS3 will come out last and be the most expensive. Nintendo and Microsoft will win the race out the gate.

heistgonewrong @ Jan 10th 2006 11:07PM

Sony will take forever debugging the Cell chip, and by the time it's released we'll be seeing some really good games coming down the pipe for the 360.

Matthew @ Jan 10th 2006 11:08PM

AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHAHAHHAHAA!!!

SuicideNinja @ Jan 10th 2006 11:08PM

Good. This gives me an excuse to get a Revolution this year and a PS3 next year. Sony probably didn't even use any of the hardware they'll actually put in the PS3 to make these demos everyone is over-excited about. The public hasn't seen anything playable.

If Sony wants to keep us interested, they should really be releasing some information. Reshowing the same demo from last year just doesn't look good.

This is also good for Microsoft since they will have a slew of good games and Sony will have to play catch up.

When the Xbox goes down to $100 and the PS2 goes to $130, we may see a slight change in the tide of the last generation, which is good. Sony has been too sloppy for too long with piss-poor games.

w00gy @ Jan 10th 2006 11:11PM

Re: "It's January and we haven't seen any playable demos of any PS3 games. Heck, nobody's even held the controller. Are we supposed to believe that this thing will be out by spring? I say Winter 2006 at the very earliest."

--

Sony never showed any playable PS2 demos until 2 weeks before the system's launch.

Just because the public hasn't been shown any finished products doesn't mean they don't exist.

And who cares if the PS3 cases shown on display are empty? It's just a display!

Vic @ Jan 10th 2006 11:20PM

It's always funny to hear Sony-boys flip negative news into something positive, but when they hear negative news about the 360 they boast about something that doesn't exist...

And before you claim I'm a 360 fanboy, just know that I have a 360, Xbox, PS2, and plan on buying the PS3 and the Revolution(for my son) when they comes out... whenever that may be. I'm all for playing good games, regardless of the system

Zsavior @ Jan 10th 2006 11:26PM

Sony can't win with a 2007 release date, the straight facts make it that they have to release this year or risk alienating and angering fans. What I mean is kids getting teased friends feeling gamer envy the usual stuff. Yeah people who come to joystiq/engadget can wait, but I don't feel the average gamer will wait for sony.

I also think they didn't show at CES because they didn't have anything, Xbox 360 showed up to E3 with mediocrity and sites like penny aracade and the average joe just standing their took them apart. Either way things are looking a little bleak on Sony's side because from the last few weeks the hype machine has been going the other way. Talk of delays, no materials, annoyed developers, it is all negative and it will work after awhile, with nothing to see the average gamer will start to believe anything. Sony really can't bad mouth 360 it is out you can pick it up, but anything can be created about the PS3 because till it hits the story it is just a fantasy

Bottom line sony should have come out this spring but I think they dropped the ball and probably their market share to xbox 360. But then again one well placed demo at E3 and well yeah they will be riding high again.

Mike @ Jan 10th 2006 11:31PM

It doesn't shock me to hear that PS3 is having debugging setbacks. There's a lot of new tech in that box.

But its funny to hear any article or fanboy talk about PS3 being delayed when Sony has NEVER given a date except for a vague "Spring 06" timetable.

Regula Oblique @ Jan 10th 2006 11:40PM

Right on w00gy..

Sony never showed any playable PS2 demos until 2 weeks before the system's launch.

Just Because we haven't seen anything doesn't mean they don't exist.

----------

What is happening is that everyone is getting spoiled by the way Msoft does things: releasing screen shots and hidden items of there upcoming games before the system is out i.e. (xbox360 spoiler marketing websites). You have to realize Nintendo and Sony are Japanese companies they are very secretive about their business. Just because Msoft wants to be loose lipped an tell everyone and their momma about what the power button on the console looks like or a zoomed in pic of a weapon from PDZ, doesnt mean Sony or NINtendo is. Because as woogy said Sony never showed any playable PS2 demos until 2 weeks before the system's launch. And they will do the same with the PS3 Iv'e seen it happen since the PS1.

Brandon @ Jan 10th 2006 11:42PM

I do agree to a certain extent that the 360 wasn't rushed, however it has always been the plan with microsoft to be the first out the gate, at whatever the cost. Part of the cost was shipping a system without hd-dvd internal, it would have been way too expensive to be manufactured for a november launch.

I'm sick of people accusing other people of being fanboys, there are valid reasons to support any of the three systems. Obviously the PS3 has the most release date speculation because technically its the most ambitious of the three (with the cell and blu-ray), and also because the 360 is already out and nintendo isn't as technically demanding. Just because sony isn't showing, doesn't mean ther isn't anything to show. Heck look at nintendo, they have tons still to tell us; but because they arent saying anything doesnt mean they dont have anything to say.

Afterall there are much bigger and more publicized stages down the road to announce things (E3!). I assume a fall/winter launch is likely, and E3 is the stage of choice to disclose all. It generates way more buzz in the gaming world than CES.

Justin @ Jan 10th 2006 11:43PM

"you do realize that they already have a playable verison of ut 2007 on ps3 dev kits, as in running on near 100% finished hardware"

Said hardware/devkits are the size of full-blown PCs. Hardly finished hardware.

I'm not a fanboy and tend to purchase every system (Xbox, GC, PS2, didn't get a DS because I just dislike touchscreens, and the PSP... where are the games?) I've got a 360 and despite the lack of original titles, the graphics of games like NfS:MW and CoD at high frame rates on a 51" screen are fantastic. So it cracks me up that people say that "the PS3 will be out when it's _done!_" You can't compare a gaming platform to one game, like Half-Life 2. HL2 was made for "real" gamers - you didn't see TV ads and a multi-national corporation doesn't have huge profits riding on it.

That being said, I did go out and build a $1000 PC pretty much just for HL2. And it was worth it, it's been the best gaming experience since the original Super Mario Bros or Zelda.

Point is, it is in Sony's best interest to get the PS3 out to consumers ASAP. Because when your average consumer's kids are clamoring for a new system, the 360 is out right now (shortages notwithstanding), and no average parent is going to buy a 2nd "next-gen" console unless it's a special occasion. Holiday Shopping '06 is a long ways away.

By the time the PS3 ships, the 360 will have a solid library. If Sony screws up the game delivery timetable like they've done with the PSP, expect sales to stagnate after the initial rush. Meanwhile the 360 games will keep getting better.

I was on the fences for a while with the original Xbox, but finally caved - and was underwhelmed. Plus I live an MS-free life. But I'm liking my 360 now and am loving some of the games that are being released in Q1 and Q2. I definitely speak for more folks than myself when I say that if Sony doesn't get on the ball with the PS3 hardware and some compelling content, there won't be a reason for me to grab one at launch.

'Specially if Halo 3 is launched at the same time - line up over the 2nd next-gen system with an average launch, or grab a great game in a franchise (that followed up one of the worst endings ever) that I can go home and play along with a bunch of other matured titles?

Also, based on the critiques of developers on the difficulty of developing for the PS3, it may be a while before the system really utilizes its potential. Only recently have PS2 games really blown me away as far as graphics horsepower (God Of War, Shadow of the Colossus, Black, etc)...

Vagabond Artist @ Jan 10th 2006 11:50PM

You would think they would have playable demos by now...

isn't there going to be a Playstation show in February in Japan? Maybe there will be some demos there...

I don't think PS3 delays matter to me anymore after seeing Nintendo unleash their controller at TGS this past year...

This E3, the only story I care to hear about is the Revolution.

I never thought I would say that.

kizza @ Jan 10th 2006 11:52PM

Who knows if it's even true. If anyone has a brain here, they would know that when media & co. don't get any info from these compaqnies or people. They make up stories to sell themselves.

Look at the worlds news & tabloids, they sometimes tell the truth, but most of the time they don't know & make sh!t up. Sony will release PS3 when it's ready. In Japan it will be ready in spring 2006, simple as that. Sony have the habit of showing these things right before release. They did it with the PS1 & PS2.

They'll show the finsihed machine at the playsation convention next month, then bang it will be out in Japan in either March or early april.

I know, as I am Ken Kutaragi's lovechild, retards.

frederick @ Jan 10th 2006 11:56PM

this does not bode well for SONY.

Blig Merk @ Jan 10th 2006 11:57PM

Go here, the first Dual Cell Computer is ready to ship:

http://www.dailytech.com/article.aspx?newsid=237

Mercury is not even one of the primary Cell partners (IBM, Toshiba, Sony) and they have Intel virtualization software for it plus are already building in dual Cell configuration.

Also, remember this:

"The PS2 was shown at TGS in 1999 without any playable demos. Playable

demos weren't shown until the Sony Conference in February 2000, then

the console was released in March of 2000."

There is a widespread campaign by xflop fanfairies spreading Fear, Uncertainty, and Doubt (FUD) about the PS3 because the xflop three-shitty is already out and it is a piece of junk. Joystiq spreading the cackling hen gossip of yellow-journalism that The Inquirer vomits out daily only reflects poorly on Joystiq.

Scott @ Jan 11th 2006 12:02AM

Just a thought but...if the PS3 being delayed wasn't that big of a deal and is actually a good thing in order to get everything working correctly.....Don't you think Sony would be touting that?

Regula Oblique @ Jan 11th 2006 12:04AM

Hey Justin you can't speak for most folks...

I definitely speak for more folks than myself when I say that if Sony doesn't get on the ball with the PS3 hardware and some compelling content, there won't be a reason for me to grab one at launch.

-----------------------------

As I stated b4 each company has their own time frame and PS3 will be done when it is done. Just because average consumer's kids want what it is out doesn't mean average consumer's kids wont want the Next big thing coming out. no matter how you put it when a new system is coming out and kids are pesking their parents they get their new system like a crack addict every xmas. I got my 360 and ill get my PS3 and Rev and its not about money because some people really want the system they want and get it, but some just get all the systems and call it a day.

kurdt @ Jan 11th 2006 12:10AM

Dear sony, you had me at metal gear solid 4. I can wait a few more months if that's what it will take to see a NA/Japan simultaneous launch in feb 2007... just for the love of god, deep six that gag-inducing 1990's bad logitech rip off controller! I KNOW I haven't held it, but I don't see how that matters much; it really is merely a statement of style more than a considered ergonomic design.

Xbox has it about right I think. If the controllers had buttons above the triggers it would be almost perfect (perfection would entail a trackball add on - a large-ish one at that. But that's just me. Ha ha).

Eric @ Jan 11th 2006 12:17AM

I was at CES and there was no way to tell if the PS3's were empty or not. There were 3 of them there. A white one in the Blu-Ray booth and the silver and black one's in Sony's booth. Do I think they were empty? Yes. But that's no big deal. Remember seeing the PS3 dev kits this past summer that were the size of a computer? Think about that and if you really think that when Sony held up the PS3 at last year's E3 there it actually contained all the working innards? One thing i noticed was the paint looked a little too professional (in other words, not what you'd expect on the final unit) and I thought I saw a little nick in the pain on the silver one. At any rate, I think they've just taken the same 3 PS3 shells wherever they go to show them off. Even in front of the white PS3 at the Blu-Ray booth it said "conceptual design". Who knows, it may even get a little thicker when it comes to the final specs.

A couple other observations on the PS3 from seeing it in person: 1) it's bigger than it looks...pretty much the same size as the 360 2) the black looks as damned good in person as you'd expect, and 3) it still appears to support SACD (at least, it had the symbol for it along with DVD, Blu-Ray, etc.) Most people might not care about that, but I for one am very interested in how they plan to support SACD. Normally SACD requires 5.1 analog inputs. Does the inclusion of SACD on the PS3 mean that Sony's going to allow SACD via optical out or HDMI? It would seem to be a total waist if Sony required some sort of multi-out connector to support the 5.1 analog outs. I'm not a big fan of SACD, but damnnit if I wouldn't love to have a few games come in full 1080p w/SACD.

agent864 @ Jan 11th 2006 12:30AM

rumor, speculation, innuendo, lather, rinse, repeat, propogate.

agent864 @ Jan 11th 2006 12:41AM

look at the mac world conference today. All the "insiders" pointed to a new Mac Mini media center and a new intel based cheap iBook. All totally wrong. Instead we got a new intel iMac and a pricey intel based MacBook. So all of this is... to add to my previous post... rumor, speculation, innuendo, fear, uncertainty, doubt, lather, rinse, repeat, propogate.

These same rumors appear on all these blogs.

kokidkane @ Jan 11th 2006 1:23AM

Some people just dont get anything. stop crying about Sony not showing anything right now as many people have said before me its not there way of doing biz and with 70% share they do good biz. Think about this if you look at pics of there plan you will se CES was not on the projector it was feb at the playstation confrence. Its ok though the poeple runing there mouth will have it shut soon enough keep talking I am loving seeing how dumb your comments are about something you heard from someone who knows as much as you do about it which turns out to be nothing.

kokidkane @ Jan 11th 2006 1:30AM

sorry I wrote fast its sloopy but hey I got to run here is the link with the pic

http://images.google.com/imgres?imgurl=http://ps3media.ign.com/ps3/image/article/635/635630/ps-meeting-2005-sonys-ps3-schedule-20050721020718112-000.jpg&imgrefurl=http://ps3.ign.com/articles/635/635630p1.html&h=269&w=430&sz=80&tbnid=QdkPd2D1mEMJ:&tbnh=76&tbnw=123&hl=en&start=2&prev=/images%3Fq%3Dps3%2Bschedule%26svnum%3D10%26hl%3Den%26lr%3D%26rls%3DRNWE,RNWE:2005-31,RNWE:en%26sa%3DN

epobirs @ Jan 11th 2006 1:31AM

A few things people should remember:

The 'first of its generation' status of the Dreamcast has no lessons whatsoever to offer regarding the Xbox 360. Sega was bleeding red ink and teetering badly. They simply lacked the capital to meet Sony's onslaught. The quality of the machine and its library became moot after that insurmountable problem.

Don't hold your breath expecting major price cuts on the original Xbox unless it can be shown there is a severe drop in sales of the remaining inventory. The system is no longer being manufactured. Microsoft took its last delivery of chips from Nvidia last August and Nvidia has stated they don't expect to receive any more orders from Microsoft. In all likelihood the remaining inventory of original Xbox units can be put through the retail channel without any price drops and be part of history by next E3.

Microsoft didn't have sufficient control of their chipset to get the engineering revision needed to produce smaller, less costly versions of the machine. It make far more sense for them to focus on the 360, where they do have full control of the chipset, and seek to drive down its price and raise it profile with continuing additions to the software feature set and game library. While several more good titles are in the original Xbox's future it is a largely at the end of its installed base growth.

Mercury has Cell based systems available for EVALUATION, not for purchase. Don't expect to be able to buy one any time soon as the chips are still hard to come by.

Supporting SACD on the PS3 is a good move. It doesn't cost Sony much since they largely own the format and it desparately needs exposure beyond the high-end audio snob realm. Relatively cheap equipment can sound fantasticly good when you rate the bit depth and sample rate above the limits of CD Red Book based on late 70's technology but it hasn't been put out there in a manner to reach the mass market. Prioritizing high margins sales has failed. It's time for high volume instead.

bd @ Jan 11th 2006 1:41AM

". i constantly hear you guys saying how the 360 was rushed. get it through your heads. it WAS NOT rushed"

Get it through your head: It IS rushed because it did not include several next generation technologies in order to get out of the gate for the holiday of 2005. It was rushed because the lemma on every gaming store that says "THE BEST GAMING LINE-UP EVER LOLZ!" is so funny that's ridiculous.

The 360 line-up at the moment is pretty much dull. The N64 line-up was much better, even when it had two games, but at least they were great. Even if it would have been only Super Mario 64, it would have been a lot better than any of these titles.

What pisses me off is that it's too obvious that they did it just to have an advantage on Sony, not necessarily to have "the best console" as hardware. They could have waited, the games could have been polished and better, and even more games would have been out. The launch for the 2006 holiday would have been huge with all these titles and more, like GoW.

It's funny how the Microsofties say "Xbox 360 is more powerful, but it's safe to say that both are Ferraris". Tell that to an adult with a job that either couldn't care less for gaming, or that wants the most cutting edge piece of equipment, and he'll tell you that the 360 is pretty much a Toy -a Hot Wheels- and that the PS3 is a center for living room entertainment that happens to play games.

Anyone that has a Media Center would find the 360 useless, since you can connect the media center directly to your TV or don't even need a TV. For the 360 you need a TV, and why even connect it to the 360? What's the point if you can do it directly? What if the TV can display 1080p resolution? The 360 would be useless. It sounds a lot like a gimmick.

I know you Xbox fans are gonna jump out and tell me "at least you can personalize everything!!!1!!1", but aren't the faceplates gimmicks to drain your wallet? Are the "music personalization features" system sellers? Please. If anyone wants a media center, they'll get an actual media center with a decent hard drive, or a nice audio player with a nice set of speakers, not a clunky console that happens to do other things that most things on our homes can do already, unless you were isolated your entire life.

Anyway, the PS3 will probably come out by the 2006 holiday, which could be great so it won't get rushed. The only ones that will get it (first) will be hardcore gamers and Full High Definition enthusiasts because of the relatively expensive price (500 dollars), and even so it will be sold out. There will be several games (by then), but not necessarily the best games; a lot of PS2 games will be sold with the PS3 anyway, just like what happened with PS2. Enough PS3s will be sold out for a price cut not so much later in time for the good games.

What I'm saying is that initially, the PS3 will sell a lot for its blu-ray features, and later for its games, just like it happened with PS2. I know not many have HDTV sets, let alone an HDTV with HDMI, but a lot of people without those still want a Blu-ray just because it's a blu-ray; those are the enthusiasts. Later that feature will still count for something when HDTV 1080p with HDMI becomes a lot more popular, if and only if Blu-ray players are still more expensive than PS3.

On the other hand, 360 will only sell for the games, as revolution will do. Revolution will also be probably a success due to its pricepoint and innovation, but the number or available consoles will probably be a lot higher than what it was for the 360 this season.

If the 360 was still rushed but with a rushed HD-DVD player, the format war could have been declared over even before it started. Sorry Microsoft, the console war will take you a lot more time to win, if only because you chose not to enter proactively to the format war, since sony is possibly going to have several Blu-ray cash streams, and maybe the ones from the Xbox III with Blu-ray, so even if Xbox III is the best-selling platform after the 360 generation and Microsoft Wins, Sony wins too, making it a long war.

By the way, Microsofts plans to "make everything online" will not be reality in a long time, at least not in the next five years. 100% of users would have to use "LIVE gold", or at least be willing to pay over the net, and internet speed would have to improve vastly.

Shamster @ Jan 11th 2006 1:43AM

I find it funny how you fanboys start to get emotionally defensive about these sort of things. Just to be clear, I have a 360 and am getting my PS3 on launch day and hope it's sooner with something that compares to the 360 if not better.

Unfortunately, to me it seems like SONY and Kutaragi have been such loud mouths trying to dissuade the public from buying into the 360 hype. Despite all of the loud remarks, it's a fact that the 360 IS a next-generation console, adds wonderful media experience and has the best online service. Had SONY not made all the "360 = XBox 1.5" noise and how SONY will be releasing 6 months after 360, a lot of the gamers might have impatiently given in to buying a 360. In their best interest SONY dangled this carrot before us only to move it away when you thought you were getting at it. SONY promised playable demos much to be shown at TG05 and when it came to show the games, they just dodged the bullet with a lame excuse that they wanted the first Japanese PS3 showing to have an amazing impact and playable demos would ruin it. My opinion, they are having more problems with putting together the system than they anticipated. Add the dependancy on the BluRay to that and it starts to sound like there is no way they are going to release the PS3 before late summer. Then there's the whole issue of games being ready. They could push the system out of the door by then, but if there are no stellar launch titles or if the launch titles stink, it would be a big letdown for all the SONY fanboys. All that 1.5 XBox talk would blow up in their face. That could be a fiasco considering the 360 would have a good library of games and would be easily available. Therefore, I think they will wait it out till holiday 06 to get the game quality and also nail the hardware. Hell, that might even buy them enough time to come up with a compelling online service. However, if they miss holiday 06, I personally don't think they would have missed the boat because Holiday 06 is when the 360 will boast a good library of games and the shops will be blessed with abdundant supplies and Microsoft is definite to announce some sweet appealing deals and bundles. i.e. I think if SONY misses Holiday 06, 360 would have reached a 10 million+ installed based by the end of the year and I think that's the point of no return for any platform.

Once again, I would love to see the SONY PS3 sooner, but from what I see, I don't see SONY delivering on time and that concerns me.

2xs2os @ Jan 11th 2006 1:54AM

Not sooner than early 2007 in N.A. Reason? Look at it-it'll burn up! It's gonna have to be redesigned if the power output is going to meet the criterion. I have a 360 that runs hot and it's got an intake as big as the grill on an Edsel[oh shit-did I say Edsel?] [I also have a small fan blowing on it to assist] Kudos to MS, at least they designed the largest intake/exhaust ports they possibly could without infringing on the cosmetic good looks [I think] If SONY sticks with this design,it'll be like trying to hide an elephant in a blueberry patch. C'mon,Ken, back to the drawing board and open er'up, baby!

Shamster @ Jan 11th 2006 1:55AM

Whoops... typo in the above comment...nnThe ending should read...

However, if they miss holiday 06, I personally think that they would have missed the boat. Holiday 06 is when the 360 will boast a good library of games, the shops will be blessed with abdundant supplies of the 360 and Microsoft is definite to announce some sweet appealing deals and bundles.

kizza @ Jan 11th 2006 2:01AM

I do not own a 360 & am not planning on buying one. But to all the Nintendo & Sony fanboys out there that are hanging crap on it, don't be so stupid. Remember all the bullsh!t about the PS2 & how it was hardly anymore powerful than the PS1 whwn it launched. Its all crap, the 360 is quite a god system. The PS3 may be marginally better (more powerful) when it launches. But remember the current Xbox had that advantage on the PS2, due to it's later release schedule. But it was not capitilised on properly at all. You hardly saw a game that used the supposed edge in power. MS relied to heavily on online hardcore, fanatic minority fanboys, instead of making fun games.

I believe this is where Sony won & could do so again.. They have taken up Nintendo's role really, of delivering quirky, differnt, quality games, time & time again, ammongst all the sequels & GTA clones. MS are agin relying on there live service, & again I think this will be there mistake, as console players, still predominantly like to play single player, solo games, with great storylines & different gameplay. MS, are a gain releasing nothing but online FPS's & racing games. While I do like these genres, I can get them plus every other genre with Sony's machine & exclusive titles. The point being is pick what you want out of your next gen console. And believe none of the bullsh!t that ill informed media speculators spit out of there lying mouths.

Just do some real research into the war on terror if you wanna find out how much propaganda & bullsh!t the media (fox) spew out.

imark G5 @ Jan 11th 2006 3:09AM

why does no one smell the same tactics they used for PSP in what they are doing for PS3? hell its practically identical.

sony announces new system, then goes quiet forever. a month or so before release they say " CHECK IT OUT, ITS DONE. You can get it (insert date)" You get wonderfully rendered sequels & ports of game, & will enjoy release after release of movies you already own on their newly developed disc format.

im as sad as everyone else that still no light is shed on the shiny gaming gem of our eyes. they just keep saying "nothing yet" & not even mentioning the previous projected launch date. if I could actually find a place that had 360s to buy, i would based on the fact that nothing is being said about PS3 & the rumors keep adding up to late this year or somtime 2007.

I want my Blu-Ray & my Metal Gear 4. I would settle for at least any kind of info on a date for either to keep me settled & away from thinking of 360 goodness.

Still the fact remains that PS3 will be PSPs strategy. a game here or there & another version of movies you own already non-stop.

kizza @ Jan 11th 2006 4:15AM

OK, whats the difference between that & 360. There best launch games were Call of Duty (another FPS & sequel), Perfect Dark (insert same as before), Quake 10 (insert same again), Project Goofball (I wish I was GT). Kameo was the only original game I believe & it is probably still sitting on store shelves, due to its marioesqueness on a console that mainly FPS online fans own.

Sony released PS2 with sequels like Tony Hawk, Tekken & others, but the also had a couple of really good original games like smugglers run & SSX. So why bother with obvious statements. All next gen consoles have mainly sequels & re-released current gen re-hashes. Its how the game companies make up quick dollars to make new, better & original (in some cases) games. Exclude EA from those last comments.

Its not "why does no one smell the tactics from PSP", its "why does no one smell the tactics of what the leading companies in the console biz, have been doing since the year dot".

Every gamer today is either wanting to know more news on PS3, or dreading it (fanboys of the competition). The fact is that PS3 is what everyone is talking about, due to it's mystery & hype. People like mysterious things. Like the saying that women like mysterious elements in men, that little unknown factor.

I am not a Sony fanboy, but I love there business smarts. All you guys that say you cant wait, Im getting a 360. Sony knows you will get there PS3 as well or will trade your 360 for one when it arrives. They also know that people who like there product (100 million of them, incidently) will buy the PS3. And most of that 100 million are not like me & you, they will wait till the machine is $199-250, 3 to 4 years down the track. The left overs will be split up into 360/cube buyers & patient PS3 buyers.

I know when the 360 launches in aus, I will have a hard time containing myself from buying one. But I've decided that I will only get 1 console this time, as there are not enough hours in my day to play 3 again, so I've chosen PS3 as my console of choice.

Robert @ Jan 11th 2006 4:32AM

Sony will screw up the PS3, because if they do the same with the PS3 as the PSP, the PS3 will fail, I'm sorry but when you have 20 UMD movies for every 1 PSP game, you have a problem. And when the next E3 comes this year, it will be all about Nintendo. My brother has a 360 and I think its ok but lets say that PS3 and 360 are about the same, maybe the ps3 is at most twice as powerful (I think both will be the same in terms of power) you will have two systems that plays most of the same games with nice graphics and the 360 will have a years worth of games. While Nintendo releases a console that is DIFFERENT, a system that the games can only be played on the revolution, nintendo will win this battle. OR lets say 60% of gamers get the PS3 and 40% gets the 360, and lets say have of the people that got a PS3 and half got the 360, thats 50% plus say another 20% for just nintendo players only, thats 70% nintendo will be in first place. This is the reason why nintendo didn't want to compete with sony and microsoft because most gamers has more than one system and most people won't get both PS3 and 360 because they both will do about the same (360 got the cool live support) so their second system will be the revolution. Nintendo knows this, they know that if they say we want this to be your second system and not your MAIN gaming system, then nintendo will sell more revolution systems than sony and microsoft can with their system. Just look at the DS and PSP, which system is better, for games is the DS but for movies is PSP, but last time I checked, the PSP is a gaming machine and they don't have many games for it. If I missed anything or you don't agree with me, post on here and tell why.

gamer1 @ Jan 11th 2006 5:00AM

Launching the PS3 soon may not be critical to Sony�s vision for the PS3. They may still want to wait to establish a strong foundation with their Blu-Ray partners and movie studios. When they decide to launch their system, they will still under cut every other Blu-Ray player manufacturer�s price for a Blu-Ray player. Even if the PS3 fails as a game system, many people will still purchase it to watch new Blu-Ray HD movies, just as many people are currently purchasing UMD movies for their PSP. Also, many Japanese gamers are currently holding off on purchasing the Xbox 360 for the PS3. I know there are some American gamers that are doing the same thing. Sony still currently has the largest market share in the video game industry and they are confident that their fanbase will transfer from the PS2 to the PS3 based on the reputation of their past console systems.

bearattack79 @ Jan 11th 2006 5:56AM

Sony has went overboard and they are going to have to cut back on promises made, the hype is great. Sony fanboys prepare to be underwhelmed when most games look the same on both platforms. Oh but movies are better on PS3. Ha Ha Ha get the popcorn out and put the games down. Oh I caint wait to WATCH king kong on my PS3 what a joke. Get ready for GTA4 on both systems running great. Its just going to cost Sony fanboys more, for the pS3 's great movie watching experiance. Look at this movie wow this is ground breaking... I have a HDTV and my expressview 6100 displays HDTV at PS3 quality right now! GEEKS

kizza @ Jan 11th 2006 6:32AM

Heres bearattack

Oh, another fanboy genius that knows more than everyone. Will it cost more than the premium 360, the poverty 360 or the core 360. You must know the price before Sony has even announced it (damn psychics). How much is it going to be nostraldamous. "They went overboard". Give up the ol' crack pipe fella. Everyone of these companies & all companies in any business, always overhype & over promise. I mean MS did it with there billion people online baloni.

Wake up fanboy, shutup fanboy & buy the console of your choice. If ya wanna 360 buy one, if ya wanna revolution, buy one, if ya don't want a PS3, dont buy one. Simple as that. PS2 & Xbox both had dvd players, retard, do you think these consoles are bought as dvd players, or consoles with a dvd player.

I remember buying my PS2 on launch day to play games, I also used it to watch movies sometimes. Thats the beauty of next gen consoles in this day & age, they are constantly giving us more options.

Pesimists are always underwhelmed. Look at them all going on about the 360, trying to say it's not next gen.

I mean, some people have an excuse bearattack, they are born stupid, Why do people like you work at rivalling them.