Just before it
reached the point of comic absurdity (alright, it might have already hit that point) Sony has acquiesced: the
PlayStation 3 isn't shipping in the next three months, despite what their website says to the contrary. The Nihon Keizai
Shimbun newspaper is reporting that the PlayStation 3 is being delayed until "early November" in Japan
due to complications with the AACS copy protection system being implemented into the Blu-ray specification. The unsourced story broke in Japan this morning, hours ahead of the 3pm (1am EST) Sony conference where we imagine this--and other--PS3 unknowns will be eliminated. With a November release in Japan, Sony would need to coordinate a simultaneous launch in the US in order to capitalize on the lucrative--and strategic--holiday shopping season. A simultaneous launch would be a first for Sony, who have historically launched in Japan first, with US and European launches following.
We're sure you're all as shocked as we were to hear the news. Seriously, we're just glad that soon, maybe by this time tomorrow, we won't have to bring you daily updates about the PS3 being delayed, not delayed, definitely delayed, still on track, not in manufacturing...
[Thanks to everyone that sent this in!]













(Page 1) Reader Comments
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The funniest thing is that joystiq is reporting this as official when Sony hasn't said a word.
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Gonna be tough for Sony to introduce a really expensive gaming machine amid a much stronger 360 and blooming Nintendo Revolution.
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But seriously, i dont even think that it will ship in november. I believe it will be finished minus all the freaken restrictions placed on the new blue ray player technology. Im assuming it will come out mid febuary or the beginning of march of next year.
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Has anything been official? No, but its a lot closer than what Sony has been given us.
If you take what the Euro sony headman said last week to heart, we may not see the PS3 in America until 2007... As far as they know...Sony doesn't plan to have a simultaneous launch at all...
Who knows. I'm just ready to learn more about the PS3...even though I probably won't get one for a few years (2-3).
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Well, I'm getting the great gaming on already with my 360 - why wait for Sony?
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What isn't official is the launch dates for the other territories and the price, along with many, many other details. Right now it looks that 2006 will be the year of the 360 and Revolution in the European regions... Sony will have some major catch-up to play when the PS3 is launched, if not in number of consoles, at least in available games. Check out 360fanboy to see a list of titles being released so far this year for the white box. It's impressive and very tempting...
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current gen games are better than anything on the 360.
Oh, and I love Joystiq for its sensationalism in "reporting in advance" as news when as for now, it's just a rumor.
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I suppose now the big question is will Sony be able to launch the PS3 in North America before 2007?
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It'll NEVER happen and I dont particularly like Sony.
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It will be early 2007 for the PS3 in the USA.
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just because it will be delayed until november for Japan, because of copy protection doesnt mean they can't build the machines and stockpile them, and wait for the final word on the AACS then flash all the chips on the systems, all this means is instead of 500,000 machines at launch in May, there will be 1.5 million machines at launch in November.
they can still make the machines, the only thing they can't do is sell them until a deal is reached with hollywood.
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Sony just basicly said, "FUCK YOU SPRING!!"
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"The story - the source for which is currently unclear - appears in the Japanese newspaper at the start of a day that is expected to see Sony deliver more concrete details about its plans for PlayStation 3 at a press conference in Japan."
"source for which is currently unclear"....
Just wait until Kutaragi speaks at 3pm tokyo time (9 hours from now) and then you can bitch and moan or point fingers.
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No next gen Pro-Evo for me untill 2008 I fear.
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From Sony. Yeah. Right. The article reads:
"Sony representatives were not immediately available for comment."
But yeah, it came from sony, Spartan. Hey Joystiq, give him another star for at least trying. Hey Spartacus, not all of us want racing games, american "RPGs", or FPS. Give us the god damned japanese games already, or at least Killer Instinct 3 from Rare while we wait for the actual Next-gen.
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Dreamcast.. the history repeats again.
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We're not "reporting in advance" whatever that means, we're quoting an "unsourced" newspaper report, it's all up there for you to read. Since it's unsourced, how could it be official? That's why I mention tomorrow's press conference. If you can't be relied upon to use simple reading comprehension before flaming and trolling the comments page, you'll continue to distinguish yourself with more negative stars.
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"...for all the true-non-born-only-for-fps gamers and casuals that don't want to pay a premium for a LIVE service or for a DVD player. In fact, most gamers won't give a damn, since
current gen games are better than anything on the 360."
LMAO
This HAS TO BE the most idiotic statement I've read in a long while. LOL, I mean seriously, how does your lead-paint-damaged mind remember how to breathe?
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The real interesting point is that if they do release this in November in Japan they'll be contending with Nintendo in Japan immediately and MS in North America eventually. I think the PS3 will do well, but that seems like a rock and a hard place.
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Probably not. I mean, they might be able to make about 1-2 million units by then, but is that enough to hold back the Revolution or the 360? Not likely. If anything the lack of PS3's available this holiday season will drive more demand for the 360 or the Revolution. Heck, the 360 is going to be the most available and possibly in-demand system come November. Now, if Microsoft can get Halo 3 (Halo Online) out the door by November, game over Sony.
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I wouldn't be suprised at all if we see a console from them in the next year.
For all we've been bitching about the console not doing this, or not doing that... These have all been speculative articles from anonymous sources who don't want to be revealed.
In case you haven't noticed, American journalism isn't exactly known for being grounded in reality. And seeing as how these aren't exactly Time, Newsweek, or even Entertainment Weekly, I wouldn't be shocked if there's a little bit of mis-truth in their reporting.
Look at EGM, GamePro, Game Informer, or OPSM's readership. It's kids and teens. So, couple sensationalistic journalism + short over agressive teen attention spans + haggling over a 2 months of time = MAJOR talk and news for Sony. They have no obligation to tell us anything, especially when it's bad news.
Who wants to go out to a press conference and say, "oops!" And doing it less than 60 days before E3, and a week before a conference about the PS3. I don't see negative here at all.
And I do plan on buying a PS3, but I've owned all the major consoles (GC, PS2, XBX, and DC) of the last gen, 3 GBA's, a PSP, and a DS. I'm hardly a fanboy. I want games, not systems.
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I really wonder what this is doing to Sony's value as a company. It's long been assumed that the Playstation division of Sony has been helping the company stay in the black. How much is this hammering the company's net worth? Because if this does seriously impact Sony's financial well-being, and if video games are really the backbone of Sony's profit margins these days, the continued bad news for the PS3 could snowball into serious problems for the company.
You know, for all that people talk about comparing the Dreamcast to the Xbox 360, I'm beginning to wonder if perhaps the Genesis is a more apt comparison. The system is doing decently so far, although it has yet to gain any real traction with its games. Nobody saw Sonic coming until he was a huge hit; maybe the same thing will happen with Microsoft.
Of course, Nintendo are just wild cards in this entire thing. It's probably to their benefit that they haven't said any release dates yet.
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I'd MUCH rather have them come out in late 2006 then cut features. Give me HDMI, 1080p, and Blu-ray in November rather than releasing sans-Blu-ray now. I'm happy with my Xbox (for now) and I'll be happy with my 360 soon, so I'm willing to wait on the PS3 if it's a superior product.
It better have some sick launch titles though.
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I'm sorry, is there anyone that can translate this into english?
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Xbox will dominate Sony until late 2008, when Sony's advantage in Japan helps them catch up worldwide. Nintendo, meanwhile, will do well in both categories. The Revolution is exceptional as is, and there are still surprises in store. There is a good chance they will beat out Microsoft by early 2008.
Congrats to MS for getting out there early. They will do well this generation, maybe well enough to break even!
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http://www.nni.nikkei.co.jp/
"TOKYO (Nikkei)--Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. will delay the release of its PlayStation 3 next-generation video game console until early November because the copy protection technology for the Blu-ray Disc has not been finalized, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun learned Tuesday.
The six-month delay could impact the Sony Corp. group's business rehabilitation plans because the PlayStation 3 is key to the group's business recovery.
Development of the copy protection technology has fallen behind schedule as consumer electronics makers and movie companies have been unable to work out the details.
Other core parts, including the Cell high-performance chip, are believed to have been developed on schedule.
Featuring the Cell, which came about through joint efforts by the Sony group, Toshiba Corp. and IBM Corp., as well as a Blu-ray Disc drive, the PlayStation 3 is expected to enable users to not only play game and movie software but also download and view high-quality videos on the Internet.
Sony Computer Entertainment announced last May that the successor to the PlayStation 2, the world's best-selling video game console, would be launched this spring. More than 100 million PlayStation 2 consoles have been shipped worldwide to date.
Among rival products, Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 was released late last year. Nintendo Co. plans to start selling its next-generation video game console, code-named Revolution, this year."
No mention of actually speaking to any Sony Reps whatsoever.
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Not at all surprised about the announcement either. November is probably their last chance at making a splash with this thing.
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Sony is playing the same strategy they played against the DreamCast. Launch later so that your console appears as obsoleting the competition.
It's going to be a nightmare for Peter Moore.
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I'm actually curious if this was purposely leaked? Only because I would think the upcoming event would want to be the focus of the postive aspects of the PS3. While I'm sure they planned (and still plan) to announce the delay, I would think leaking it ahead of time would relieve some of the initial sting.
I do agree that when PS3 comes out it will sell simply because its Sony's PS3 but I also agree that I think the general core gaming audience with high hopes on the systems graphics will be dissapointed. I know its been pointed out time and time again but let me point it out one more time that the initial wave of games never, while generally looking and playing better, never appear to be quite the level of next-gen that people anticipate. Those games are going to be seen in E3 2007.
I ask the intial question because if Revolution is debuting prior to the holiday season, and Sony doesn't, Nintendo is going to become the clear winner of the holiday business season. I dismiss the 360 only because I think the initial aw with the system is beginning to wear off. Although I'll admit I'm a true nintendo fanboy at heart.
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This just isn't good news if you are third party, people have shown that they have grinded to a hault anticipating next generation consoles graphics and game play. The fall out now only gets worst as now third parties like SquareEnix and Capcom will be thrown into the mix. Not that I am a fan of E.A. or Activision, but we do need third part companies to survive for a variety of games.
With Xbox 360 still no where to be seen, Nintendo being very in house strong and capable, and PS3 release in Japan dated for November, if you are looking at this from a third party developer stance you just can't feel good. Also while Micrsoft third parties are very FPS, Sim based games, what happens to the japanese developers that depended on the PS3 spring release. I wonder if in a few months we won't be seeing charts on other companies projected loses and their need to cut back on projects. I just don't see anything positive about this right now in the state that gaming is in with everybody anticipating a giant gaming crash around the corner.
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X360 seems like old news now. It'll seem much more obsolete when the Rev and PS3 roll around.
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"Don't forget that PS3 will still outsell everything in Japan when it comes out, driving Japanese games to the console, driving sales in the states for all the true-non-born-only-for-fps gamers and casuals that don't want to pay a premium for a LIVE service or for a DVD player. In fact, most gamers won't give a damn, since
current gen games are better than anything on the 360."
Remember bitter people never prosper!
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a. Sonys brand name is enough to carry them.
b. they will be able to pull off a worldwide launch, especially when manufacturing this system aint gonna be easy.
c. Microsoft wont have a price drop on the 360 when PS3 finally releases
and
d. Sonys launch lineup is utter garbage.
Sony fanboys please think before you post your stupidity here. I havent even factored Nintendo into the equation here and they have the best possibility of pulling off a worldwide launch in Nov with a much cheaper console. Its not looking good for Sony, thats why they havent said jack yet....
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