Sony to delay rollout of PlayStation 3 console until early November

[thunderhawk]

Sony to delay rollout of PlayStation 3 console until early November

TOKYO (AFX) - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCE) said it has decided to release its PlayStation 3 (PS3) next-generation video game console in early November, scrapping an original plan to roll it out this spring.

But the game unit of the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker stressed that the new consoles, when launched, will be made available in countries around the world at the same time.

'I would like to apologize for revising the release date, because standardization talks on new Blu-ray technology and high-definition multimedia interfacing -- the key features of the next generation console, have taken more time than we had originally thought,' SCE President and CEO Ken Kutaragi told a press conference.

He added though that Sony will be targeting shipments of 6 mln units of the new console by the end of March 2007.

Sony's PlayStation 2, is currently the world's best-selling video game console, and the delay in launch of the new version will give arch rival Microsoft Corp a window of opportunity to try to grab a greater share of the lucrative video games market.
Source: http://www.forbes.com/home/feeds/afx...fx2595444.html

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It's Official: PS3 launching worldwide November 2006

Sony confirms delay for next-gen console, says it will support an Xbox Live-like online gaming service; console will require a 60GB Linux HDD--but will it be sold separately?

TOKYO--Today at the 2006 PlayStation Business Briefing in Tokyo, Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutagari made it official--the PlayStation 3 has been delayed. The news confirmed widely circulated Japanese newspaper reports, which said that the delay was due to copyright-protection problems with the next-generation console's Blu-ray drive. For his part, Kutaragi would only say the delay was due to "Blu-ray spec finalization."

Kutaragi told the crowd at the event that the PS3 would now launch in November 2006 worldwide. That dispelled fears that the console would make it to Japan in time by the fall, but would miss the all-important holiday shopping season in the US and Europe. In fact, Kutaragi explicitly told the crowd of game retailers and journalists present that the PS3 would arrive before Thanksgiving in all territories.

Besides the delay, Kutaragi also made official another widely reported aspect of the PS3. He said that Sony is indeed preparing an Xbox Live-like online gaming service for the console, which would be called the "PlayStation Network Platform." Though he was short on specifics, the executive did say that currently Sony planned the service to be "free."

While the simultaneous tri-territory PS3 scheme may sound much like Microsoft's international launch of the Xbox 360, Sony plans to avoid the shortages that befell its competitor. Kutaragi said that the company plans on producing at least one million units of the console each month in order to keep the supply channel full. He said the goal was to ship 6 million PS3s worldwide by March 2007.

[UPDATE] The SCE president also told the crowd that the PS3 would use a 60GB 2.5" hard disc drive (HDD). A slide show during the presentation said the HDD would will be loaded with the Linux operating system versus Microsoft's Windows OS. The show also said it could be used as a "home server" and be directly connected to the Internet, and be full "upgradeable."

Kutaragi also made it clear that the hard drive will be necessary to play games--Sony is telling developers to make games assuming every PS3 has a hard drive installed. "We view the Hard Drive to be mandatory for the PS3," he said. "Rather than have developers create games for the PS3 with or without the HDD, we will be asking them to develop games as though all PS3s have the HDD installed."

However, Kutaragi revealed that Sony had not decided whether or not the PlayStation 3 would come with the hard-drive pre-installed. "We might end up installing it in all PS3s, though that depends on the market," he said. This raises the possibility that the PS3 could be sold without a piece of hardware needed to play PS3 games--in effect forcing consumers to buy a peripheral for basic functionality.

Kutaragi also said that PS3 games would be released only on Blu-ray discs, as DVDs have become too easy for software pirates to duplicate. The high-capacity format is capable of storing around 50GB on a single disc. Sony reps confirmed the PS3 will still play DVDs and CDs, as well as PS2 and PSone discs, as previously announced.

Source: http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145972.html

[rhiohki]

I bet the HD-DVD camp at Toshiba are jumpin for joy

[cws2882]

Originally Posted by rhiohki

I bet the HD-DVD camp at Toshiba are jumpin for joy

I doubt it. ps3 comes out only about 6 months after the first hd-dvds and will cost about the same amount. Also they expect to have lots of unit availiable at this time which will mean lots of people will have blue ray in there homes by xmass.