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Sony Admits PS3 Delay Possible 85

Posted by Zonk from the noooooo-reallllly dept.
Next Generation reports that Sony has admitted there may be a delay in getting the PS3 to market. From the article: "Sony has told the media that the launch of the console will be delayed due to difficulties in finalizing the Blu-ray drive's specs. An unnamed spokesperson for Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan admitted that PlayStation 3 launch could be delayed. SCE said that if final specs were not finalised with the Blu-ray Disc development consortium, the launch of the console could be delayed." I would have rather they come out and admitted this last month, when everyone realized this was the case, instead of denying it and looking unrealistic.
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Sony Admits PS3 Delay Possible More

Sony Admits PS3 Delay Possible

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  • Why would they make a statement at all unless the delay was a sure thing?
  • I have been saying 2007 in the US for the longest time, every day I am closer to being correct. Come on M$ show sony where they can put their Rootkit.
    • It is kind of amusing that most people here hate M$ SO much in the world ofthe computer, however in the relm of the console's, everyone is backing the giant evil.
      • I'll just find it as worthy payback for how Sony marketed the PS2's Emotion Engine with inflated specs and hype, and killed the Dreamcast. Sega royally screwed up many things on their own, but the Dreamcast was their best work since the Genesis.
        • I concur. Dreamcast was a great system, with great games. Virtua tennis is still one of my favorite tennis games. House of the dead 2, awesome.
        • If only the Dreamcast had "Sony" or "Playstation 2" written on it, it would have sold. Chu Chu Rocket still rocks at parties. EAT CAT!!!!1

      • Unfortunately (Score:1, Insightful)

        by Anonymous Coward
        It is quite clear to me at this point that Slashdotters don't actually think in terms of good, or evil, or ethical, or unethical, or whether or not someone is having a positive or negative impact on the world around them.

        All slashdotters think about is who they hate.

        If the slashdotter hates Microsoft more than Apple, and we're talking about Apple, why, then Apple is good and Microsoft is evil.

        But if the slashdotter hates Sony more than Microsoft, and we're talking about Sony, why, then Microsoft is good and

  • Always truth to rumors in videogame industry (Score:4, Interesting)

    by rAiNsT0rm ( 877553 ) on Monday February 27, 2006 @01:21PM (#14810149) Homepage
    In my time working in the videogame industry I've just learned to accept that there is always truth in rumors in this field. There are a lot of loose cannon's and always snubbed workers who tend to divulge info with minimal, if any, arm twisting.

    Just from today's news you can plainly see that a decent compiler is just in the beginning stages by IBM for the Cell processor, and that delays are the truth... so a high price tag as was claimed can't be far off either. Both Sony and MS have dug themselves into pretty nice sized holes trying to outdo each other. Wars of attrition have no real winners.
  • If I were in Sony's shoes, I would just go ahead and release the console with a partially-functional Blu-Ray drive (i.e., able to read the game discs and regular DVDs), and once the specs are finalized, update the drive with new firmware. They'd have to slap a sticker on saying that it will not play Blu-Ray out-of-the-box until new software is available (and if they were kind, they'd do it free of charge either by mailing out discs or downloading it via their online thingamabober). Sure, it'd be a minor inc

  • I doubt they're even capable of launching it (Score:3, Informative)

    by mozumder ( 178398 ) on Monday February 27, 2006 @01:24PM (#14810190)
    With the estimated costs at $900 to manufacture, the PS3 is a non-launch.

    First, they screw up by trying to use the Cell processor for the GPU, and having to backtrack and go with a standard NVidia GPU instead (1-2 year delay), and now they're screwing up by trying to use Blu-Ray (another 1 year delay).

    Sorry Sony, this product isn't going to launch anywhere this year. Microsoft wins. By the time PS3 launches at the end of 2007, Microsoft will probably be on their second generation of Xbox360 hardware, at a lower price point, with big A List titles to go with it.
    • If Microsoft "wins" with the XBox 2 then we pretty much "lose". The Xbox 2 and PS 3 are making no steps towards moving gaming forward. I'm glad Nintendo is still keeping things going while Sony and MS dig their own graves.

      (Nice shiney high def graves with overpriced caskets)

    • 100% False (Score:1, Interesting)

      by Nazmun ( 590998 )
      Okay, how in god's name did the parent get modded up? All his points were proven to be false in previous article's comments on slashdot.

      His first point was proven false by myself and a few others. The ps3 does not cost $900 to manufacture. I'd rather not repeat what's been said so many times so here's a link as to why:
      http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=177857&cid=147 53299 [slashdot.org]

      In addition to whats in that link, IBM has recently stated that they've gotten costs of fabbing the Cell for ps3 down to $75 per

      • Re:100% False (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Babbster ( 107076 )
        Nice link! I mean, damn, in that previous comment you basically say "I don't think it will cost that much" and then proceed to explain why using no concrete examples, no information about actual costs of the new hardware (just a few WAGs about costs of current hardware) and, best of all, no links to any solid information...and you managed to turn that into another "informative" point of karma. Well done!

      • Re:100% False (Score:3, Informative)

        by sehryan ( 412731 )
        How exactly is this reply, or the one you point to, any less conjecture than the one's that say the system will cost $900? You provide no references for your own numbers, much like the parent you are replying to.

        Pot, meet kettle.

      • Re:100% False (Score:1, Funny)

        by Anonymous Coward
        His first point was proven false by myself and a few others. The ps3 does not cost $900 to manufacture. I'd rather not repeat what's been said so many times so here's a link as to why: http://slashdot.org/comments.pl?sid=177857&cid=147 [slashdot.org] 53299

        What is the world coming to when we cite Slashdot posts as proof?

        Excuse me while I try to slide back to my own dimension
  • WE R NOT (red) E.

  • Enough! (Score:2, Insightful)

    by __aajqwr7439 ( 239321 )
    I'm getting dizzy.

    DN

    ---

    September PS3 Launch, Online Service
    On February 15th, 2006

    PlayStation 3 Delayed, Over $800?
    On February 18th, 2006

    Sony Denies PS3 Delay
    On February 20th, 2006

    PlayStation 3 Not So Much Delayed?
    On February 24th, 2006

    Sony Admits PS3 Delay Possible
    On February 27th, 2006
    • The funny thing is that most of those all said the same thing... "May delay in Japan, no delay in North America"...

      Nobody actually reads the details though... Hell, most of the sites parroting the statement didn't bother to include all the information.

    • People were complaining of being sick of 360 news when it actually launched.

      I'm sick of PS3 news and it's not even launching for months!

  • Everyday you are one day closer to the release.
  • Why not just release it now/ontime without the Blu-Ray movie player functionality, and offer a free patch when that stuff gets finalized and update the firmware turning that feature back on? Why would that be so hard?

    The DVD player part for the origional PS2 required a driver loaded off the memory card. How would this be any different?

    Unless that isn't the real problem they are having and it just makes a convenient scape-goat.

    Either way, from what I've seen (and I believe), the US launch date is unchange

    • I agree that it's just a scape-goat for Sony, since there are probably several other issues that they need to address (like Cell manufacturing, trying to get costs down, developing their own online service, etc.). It's much easier to point the finger and blame a separate consortium for your problems instead of your own internal teams.

      That said, I don't think it's a good idea at all to ship a non-working Blu-ray player out of the box. While I agree that there aren't going to be very many actual Blu-ray movie
    • The DVD player part for the origional PS2 required a driver loaded off the memory card. How would this be any different?

      No, only the remote Sony released required this. If you used the PS2 controller, you didn't even need to have a memory card for playing DVDs. Your idea of releasing now, and upgrading later is intriguing though. :)
      • No, you misunderstand. The US versions had the driver built in. The US version only needed a driver for the remote.

        But the very first PS2s shipped in Japan did NOT have the DVD driver installed in the ROM. You HAD TO HAVE A MEMORY CARD to play a DVD (with the controller, the remote wasn't released until later). They put the driver in ROM with a later revision, but the first PS2s that were sold (which were only sold in Japan) needed that driver to play DVDs.

  • Eh (Score:2)

    by sehryan ( 412731 )
    Not to be bitter, but I put this story in on Tuesday, when the news release was announced.

    I found this admision by Sony pretty ironic, seeing as how it came on the exact same day that Sony denied that the PS3 would be delayed. Deny in the morning, admit in the afternoon. I wonder if left hand knows what right hand is doing.

  • Nonsense! It will launch on-time, have supercomputer calculation capabilites for home entertainment, and will instill discipline in our children and adults alike. Everyone will know discipline! To get a PS3, we will work more hours to buy one [ps3today.com].

    We must be careful, though, lest skynet become self-aware. If processors of high performance and wide bandwidth like the Cell were linked together without sufficient security, a worldwide system crash could occur with one attack!

    Seriously though, the day I got

    • I hear that it can render 10 billion copies of Toy Story in real-time simultaneously. And has anyone thought about the dangers of Iran getting hold of these things for use in their nuclear program?

      -Eric

  • I've always hated it when companies miss Christmas. Final Fantasy X is the biggest example (Came out like a week after Christmas as I recall in a surprise release) I can think of, but I think there were other situations too. I know they are working there hardest to get this thing out ASAP, but Christmas launch seasons are perhaps the most important time, considering for anyone under 13 (without a part-time job), that is the only way they will get one (although current prices could effect that trend). Oth
  • This will defintely affect the Japanese launch date. I'd be surprised if this affected the US date, though. The gap between the two is large enough that it seems to me that the latter wouldn't be impacted.
  • "Fly, Plaything, fly... you're not ready!" >:D
  • This has to be good news for Nintendo. With the low sales (due either to low demand, low supply, or both) of the XBox 360, Nintendo's main competition in this year's console release war is the PS3. With Sony delaying it, this give's Nintendo some breathing room. We know that the console will be cheaper than either the PS3 or the 360, so they already have that in the bag. With the weight of the PS3 release off of Nintendo's shoulders, they can give whatever AAA launch titles they have planned some more polis
    • After all, how would you like to make a game where you're not even sure of the finalized specs of the media you're intended to store it on?
      • The only thing the game developer needs to worry about is capacity. I don't think that any of the details currently being discussed will have any effect on the game developer.
        • Sure it will, if they have to worry about read speeds and what not. I'd like to hope that at least one developer is going to try for streaming levels off the disk to remove or reduce load times. Kind of hard to optimize your game based on non-specs.
          • I'd bet that developers know what is still being finalized and what range those stats will fall between. If they know that the BD consortium are arguing over whether the read speeds should be X or Y then the developer will assume the lower of the two and go off of that. Sure, in the end it may not be the ultimate in optimization but what early release game is?
  • This is sort of the obvious, useless delay. I don't think anyone expected the console to arrive in April or May. However, the article mentions a "U.S. delay until 2007" which is sourced from an analyst, not a Sony source. So this doesn't mean it's delayed for the U.S. at all, since we never expected to get it until fall anyway.

    And it's NOT going to cost $800.
  • And then adding it later on, like what Microsoft did with HD-DVD on the Xbox360.

    I mean, I would be pissed off if I bought a game console that was supposed to support some feature, it was excluded so that it could be shotgunned to the stores before Christmas full of flaws, and then 6 - 12 months later the company comes out with a revised game console that not only includes the system with the new feature for a cheaper price but also fixes a slew of problems they found in the system. Oh, if you want that new
    • Uh, maybe MS left the HD-DVD off the Xbox360 because it's expensive and no one wants one. Just like no one wants a blu-ray player. It's not needed for the games, and I don't think there's really a market for the 'next gen' DVD.

      I like my 360, but there's no way I'd have paid even $100 more for a DVD player in a format that doens't exist yet (the encryption scheme is still awaiting confirmation) that has DRM-only content and negligable (I have 720p, but the 480p DVDs are just fine with me) quality improveme
    • The HD-DVD peripheral will be for watching movies only, and it will be an add-on. The Xbox360 will only ever have the DVD-9 as the game reader, from what i've read.
  • As Microsoft has alluded Halo 3 will come out at the same time as the PS3, I hope Sony delays the PS3 as long as possible. Maybe then Bungie will have enough development time to deliver a completed storyline in this game.
    • Actually, Bill Gates backed off on the Halo 3 threat saying instead that Halo 3 would come out when Bungie was ready to release it. But if the PS3 delays become long enough, then Halo 3 might just come back into play as far as launch competition is concerned.
  • PS3 or World of Warcraft: Burning Crusade????
  • By delaying the PS3, they cleverly make the Xbox 360 not a 'next-generation' machine, but a 'last-and-a-halfth generation' machine - ie, the new Dreamcast. See, they know what they're doing!

    You watch, they'll pull an Apple and announce before launch that they've 'just realised' they can upgrade the CPU speed for no extra cost and thus make the machine more powerful, leaving that Microsoft thing in the dust... ;)

  • Rumors on the internet: "Sony will delay PS3."
    Sony: "No, PS3 will launch in spring 2006."
    Merril Lynch: "Sony will delay PS3."
    Sony: "No, PS3 will launch in spring 2006."
    More internet sources: "Sony will delay PS3."
    Sony: "No, PS3 will launch in spring 2006."
    Everyone else: "JUST ADMIT IT!!!"
    Sony: "We will delay launching the PS3."

    Wowee, what a surprise!
  • Since everyone and their mother has a view on when the PS3 will launch, how much it will cost (retail and component-wise), and how the revolution will wipe everyone else off the map, I propose that we create a next gen comment time capsule.

    The capsule would contain a record of comments and predictions on the next generation games consoles from slashdot users. This capsule will be sealed, buried in the ground and then only dug up and opened on four specific dates:

    1) and 2) Launch of the PS3/Revolution. T

  • Sony has now promised A LOT, and have promised it SOON. This 'possible delay' will probably be only the first of many.

    As somewhat of a PS fanboy, I hope that they are able to pull it all together and release a good product in some reasonable amount of time... but I wouldn't want to be in their shoes.

  • I know this doesn't make a whole lot of sense but I thought it'd be interesting if some in the consortium behind blu-ray are arguing and forcing the blu-ray back because they don't like how Sony's planning to sell an early drive (the PS3) for such a low price. Of course, this would be dumb financially because it would hurt them, too, but some people can just be spiteful and when hurt want to hurt back (even if it will hurt them, too).
  • Maybe is just me, but I think a possible reason is also the competition (xbox 360) Think about it, if the PS3 was released in spring at around $600-$700 bucks and just some launch titles (not even MGS4 AFAIK) while the xbox 360 is sitting in the shelf at $300-$400 (half the price) even devoted fans could start to consider the cheap alternative, MS is also aparently holding their Killer titles for that exact moment (Halo 3, gears of war, 99 nights, Enchant arm, blue dragon, lost planet, dead rising) those co

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