Sony PS3 launch could be delayed

[zombie]

http://www.cnn.com/2006/TECH/fun.gam...eut/index.html

Some highlights...

Corp.'s launch of its next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console could be delayed if industry specifications for some of its technology are not finalized soon, although it is still aiming for a spring rollout, it said on Monday.

"We're aiming for spring, but we haven't announced specific regions," a spokeswoman for Sony Computer Entertainment said, adding that it was waiting for the final specifications on some of the technology it is using in the PS3, such as that related to the Blu-ray DVD drive and to input and output video and sound.

Kamide said Sony may wait until it is fully prepared, especially after seeing slow initial sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 even though it was launched in time for the holidays.

Sakurai estimated that Sony could charge at most 50,000 yen ($420) for the console.

Analysts generally agree that Sony will do whatever it can to avoid missing the key year-end holiday season this year, but many believe it will be unable to make the PS3 in great volumes.

[Gorkab]

SONY's PS3 to cost 699 $ :

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144600.html

[zombie]

Originally Posted by Gorkab

SONY's PS3 to cost 699 $ :

http://www.gamespot.com/news/6144600.html

If it's a good BD player then it's still a bargain at that price.

[thunderhawk]

For BD player yeah.. But it won't have the same effect as the PS2 with that price... C'mon, it's purpose for Blu-ray Disc is to get the technology in the common peoples houses, it won't be the case if put the price that high. Most of those kids haven't got the money to get such a system, nor will a parent buy it for them IMO...

[zombie]

Originally Posted by thunderhawk

For BD player yeah.. But it won't have the same effect as the PS2 with that price... C'mon, it's purpose for Blu-ray Disc is to get the technology in the common peoples houses, it won't be the case if put the price that high. Most of those kids haven't got the money to get such a system, nor will a parent buy it for them IMO...

Agreed, that's not a price for the masses but if it is a good BD player besides being a game system it's a great deal for early adopters.

[Gorkab]

A SONY's french talkman said that the PS3 will be an entertainment station, more than a simple video game console, and that it will be the machine which will introduce the High Definition in homes for an extremely competitive price.

Read between lines and you will see a justification for the price of 699 $

[Sony1]

I wouldn't be suprised if it costs more than that because of the standard Blue-Ray player is going to start out at 800.$ How can Sony undercut the other electronics companies by releasing a 700.$ player, it just doesnt make scence to me yet. I hope they come out with it before November though, if HD DVD comes out with a external for Xbox this could be a problem for PS3.

[Gorkab]

Originally Posted by Sony1

I hope they come out with it before November though, if HD DVD comes out with a external for Xbox this could be a problem for PS3.

Maybe the price of the X360 unit + the HD-DVD external player will cost more than the PS3 itself...

[Sony1]

Good point. But at least it would be out and on the market, the more people would turn away from the Playstation.

[thunderhawk]

Originally Posted by Sony1

I wouldn't be suprised if it costs more than that because of the standard Blue-Ray player is going to start out at 800.$ How can Sony undercut the other electronics companies by releasing a 700.$ player, it just doesnt make scence to me yet.

They'll sell it with loss.. Dunno if Sony can handle it. PS3 will be rare to get at first I believe...

[Gorkab]

Originally Posted by thunderhawk

They'll sell it with loss.. Dunno if Sony can handle it. PS3 will be rare to get at first I believe...

Like every console today

[thunderhawk]

Sony-manager: "PS3 to be launced end 2006"

In two months, Sony will release the first wave of DVDs in Blu-ray, a format Sony spent years and many millions developing in the hope that it will become the industry standard for the next generation of DVDs.

Even Sony Pictures, which was shell-shocked after a disastrous 2005, is moving into what appears to be a more fecund period, thanks to "The Pink Panther," "Underworld: Evolution" and "When A Stranger Calls." "The Da Vinci Code" bows in May and the next James Bond extravaganza, "Casino Royale," unspools in November.

After a confusing start, the "new" MGM is starting to emerge. The Lion lost 800 jobs after it was sold and was rudderless for months, until billionaire media entrepreneur Harry Sloan was named its chairman-CEO last fall. Rumors were rife of conflict between Sony, which invested $300 million for 20% of the company, and its partners. The largest shareholder is Providence Equity, with 29%.

"You have to figure out how to work out the relationship with private equity companies, a cable company and two studios. And people seem surprised that this isn't easy," marvels Stringer. He said Sony never considered buying MGM outright. With the huge electronics bizbiz to turn around, "The company's priorities would have looked skewed."

"The MGM deal was done from the top down ... and it wouldn't surprise me, if, two levels down, folks that may not have participated in the construction of the deal probably don't like it," explains one person involved in it. "The relationships among the principals are good. Down in the trenches, I doubt it."

MGM plans to develop its own distribution biz under newly hired chief operating officer Rick Sands and find partners -- like the Weinstein Co. and Lakeshore Entertainment -- to make movies. The Lion will declare its strategy March 8, when Sloan hosts a press conference in Los Angeles called "The Lion Roars Again."

Stringer also found his diplomatic skills sorely tested by his own music division as the BMG half, led by Sony-BMG chairman Rolf Schmidt-Holtz, mutinied, directing their wrath at Lack.

Stringer attributes the problems to a culture clash that plagues many mergers. It was "a highly centralized management (Sony) vs. a highly decentralized management (BMG). We probably should have anticipated it."

"BMG was extremely successful when they came to the merger, and people say, 'We were fine. Why did we have to do this?'"

With Lack's contract expiring, BMG wanted him out. Many observers thought Stringer would cut the cord. But after months of negotiations, there came an odd resolution. Lack and Schmidt-Holtz would swap jobs, with the German exec taking the higher-octane post.

"I defended Andy because I felt that the anxiety was out of proportion," Stringer says. "I think it would have been unfair to push Andy aside. He has something to contribute." It's not clear, however, what Lack's new job will entail or, many think, how long he'll stay.

Now, electronics and games can take center stage, although major questions loom at those divisions as well.

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.

Blu-ray is the system developed by Sony to view next-generation high-definition DVDs. Rival format HD DVD is championed by Toshiba. Microsoft recently joined the HD DVD camp, a move that came as its Xbox 360 videogame console is trying to grab market share from PlayStation, the industry leader.

Software makers, electronics firms and Hollywood studios have lined up behind one or the other, or both.

For Sony, the stakes of the rivalry are colossal. The new discs are seen as a way to energize flattening DVD sales. Both the systems also make movies harder to pirate.

Some believe Stringer is betting the company on Blu-ray. The technology is more advanced than HD DVD and would allow the players to incorporate interactive features and others still to be developed. But HD DVD is easier to manufacture and the boxes will be cheaper.

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."

"Once Microsoft picked sides it was clear we were going to be in a battle royale," Stringer says, vowing to protect his turf. "We won't be stampeded" by Microsoft into rushing decisions "that are there forever."

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."

Source:

http://www.variety.com/article/VR1117939258?categoryid=18&cs=1&s=h&p=0