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Playstation 3 Delay Official 132

Aleman writes "In this interview with Variety magazine, Sony CEO Howard Stringer confirms that the Playstation 3 will be released during the holiday 2006 season." Not very surprising given the available information.
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Playstation 3 Delay Official

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  • by RingDev ( 879105 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @10:20AM (#14857461) Homepage Journal
    But wasn't Q4 '06 the original expectation for the US release?

    -Rick
    • That's kinda what I thought too. Either way it's not like it's a huge delay. Heck, I'd kinda rather they'd wait even longer for

      a) The price of some of the hardware to come down
      b) To watch Microsoft fumble around more
      and
      c) To rethink this whole format war business

      I have a bad feeling that the last one especially won't happen :( If they're gonna stick a Blu-Ray drive in this thing I sure as hell hope it ends up being the dominant next gen video format, or Sony is fucked, I think.
      • c) To rethink this whole format war business

        I have a bad feeling that the last one especially won't happen :( If they're gonna stick a Blu-Ray drive in this thing I sure as hell hope it ends up being the dominant next gen video format, or Sony is fucked, I think.


        Don't you have it backwards?

        The PS3 is the nuclear weapon Sony intends to use to win the format war.
        Their whole strategy is based on the PS3 (each one with a BR) being a huge hit.
        If they deliver more or less on time, BR will be the de facto new gen
        • You have a point, and I certainly hope you're right.

          Either way, I hope it still at least plays DVDs. If not, that'd be pretty damn annoying.

          • Perhaps we should think of this Battle of the Consoles as being the first skirmish of the much more far reaching Formats War.
            At least, we'd still be inside the bellic metaphor. ;>)

            Cheers,
            • I think that's right. The PS3 is effectively a trojan to get Blu-ray players into the house. And, to be honest, the PS3 is about the only edge Blu-ray has: the HDDVD really has the advantage financially and even in some ways technologically -- unless the PS3 performs quite spectacularly well. If they have even a quarter of the supply problems the 360 has had, I predict Blu-ray is dead.
              • The PS3 is effectively a trojan to get Blu-ray players into the house.

                Agreed...

                And, to be honest, the PS3 is about the only edge Blu-ray has: the HDDVD really has the advantage financially and even in some ways technologically

                and agreed...

                -- unless the PS3 performs quite spectacularly well. If they have even a quarter of the supply problems the 360 has had, I predict Blu-ray is dead.

                But... even if the PS3 is a dud, they're going to sell millions and millions of them.
                So, unless the console is a technologic
    • b) To watch Microsoft fumble around more
      I could have sworn they were the only ones (out of Sony and them) to have released their new console... Is that what you meant by "fumble"?
      • They delivered (pun not intended) a pretty bad performance for a console launch. Sure, a nearly-simultaneous worldwide launch sounds nice on paper but they should have rethought that strategy when it became clear that there will be production issues that will prevent them from sending sufficient numbers to any market. Apparently some people still can't get the console even though they are willing to buy it. The backwards compatibility is sub-par (I don't think such a half-baked backwards compatibility has b
        • to be fair, geometry wars has thusfar been their unexpected "killer app". a game that could be done on the xbox1 or the ps2. hell, sans the resolution it could have been done on the psp.

          other than that, yeah... MS fumbled, and fumbled badly at that. their "killer apps" have come and gone with slight pause. perfect dark zero? DOA4? not bad games at all im sure, but definitely not as great as hyped. then again, halo aside... the original xbox didnt have dozens of killer apps either. ninja gaiden? splinter cel
      • There should be vast mountains of Xbox360s shifting like hotcakes by now. It's not happening - whether because of shortages, or just not enough people to buy them (local stores here in Ireland finally have them in stock - but they don't seem to be moving).

        And so to some extent, Microsoft has to wait too for the next holiday season and a consumer spending spree - there's a reason for the focus on that period for new product releases.

        Managing to sell a few in time for last year's season doesn't cut the mustar
        • Interesting that so many people are saying the 360 isn't selling well. The information that is published appears to indicate... "The system looks likely sell 6 million units by the end of June 2006, and from 10 to 12 million by the end of the year." This information came from "Research analyst P.J. McNealy, as reported by Next Generation." URL: http://games.kikizo.com/news/200603/002.asp [kikizo.com]

          Now, that's ignoring the Japanese market where the 360 has positively -bombed-: "The Xbox 360 managed to sell only 1,203 u
          • thats all in how you read the article.

            the analyst quoted an expected 6 million console sales by june, but the next sentence says that microsoft themselves only predict selling between 4.5 and 5 million by june. so apparently this analyst has much better knowledge of MS innerworkings than MS themselves. [!]

            given that MS has at their disposal numbers re: region distribution and hardware yields, i am more apt to go by the MS numbers. even those number have to be taken with a grain of salt; they will obviously
    • by Anonymous Coward
      This delay only concerns the Japanese market, the only release date announced so far.

      Sony never gave a release date for the US or Europe.
    • by YU Nicks NE Way ( 129084 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @11:49AM (#14858190)
      Yes. Stringer was talking about the Japanese release here, though -- so this is a six month slip.
      • Actually, it's not clear at all. It seems likely to me that Stringer was talking about the US release when he spoke to Variety about it being in time for the holidays, as they are an American publication.

        There's nothing in the article to suggest that Stringer himself said anything about delays, and it looks to me as if Variety has gotten a bit confused about the whole US/Japan release date differences and assumed a six month delay because of them, especially as there had been all that recent inane coverage
  • by Hangtime ( 19526 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @10:24AM (#14857489) Homepage
    Sony is fine with waiting given the poor execution of the 360. Ironically, if MS had given itself a few more months it may have put more pressure on Sony. However, given the numbers I am seeing on the components even another nine months may not be enough for the PS3 to come in at a reasonable amount for Sony . Sony will not price it above $400 USD retail. But losing $500 on each console sold cannot be an attractive proposition for Sony higher-ups.
    • by Austerity Empowers ( 669817 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @11:37AM (#14858074)
      I've said it before, but be very careful about estimating the price of components sold in consumer systems. Volumes speak volumes. A component we may buy in small quantities (1000) can cost 1/2 to 1/4 if sold in high volumes with a volume commitment (usually 100k/year is where it starts). Designs of mine have been estimated at costs of "$400" by marketing, but the actual COGS was closer to $100-$150 after negotiations.

      People assume there is some discount on goods costs with volumes, I don't think many people realize how high it really is. I don't think they're losing money on XBox 360 hardware, nor do I think Sony will lose on the PS3. If money is lost it's warranty/returns.
    • You make it sound like Sony won't encounter the same problems MS did, with delayed games, slow release schedules, and problems meeting demand. Yet, all of those things happened with the PS2 -- its first year was notoriously slow.
      • true, but sony also has a higher brand loyalty, and more importantly the japanese market. sony needs to actively compete with nintendo this fall. x360 sales will start to taper off worldwide once they are not longer the only next gen system on the market.
  • what have we come to that Slashdot has to source breaking news from the Hollywood trade rag?
    • by elrous0 ( 869638 )
      Hey, no need to run down Variety! Without their trenchant reporting, we would have never learned about those cost overruns on Waterworld.

      -Eric


  •   If PS3 "delivers what everyone thinks it will,
    the game is up" Stringer boasts.
  • by PrvtBurrito ( 557287 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @10:27AM (#14857507)
    As far as I am concerned, this will have serious consequences on the adoption of Blu-ray, given that Toshiba's HD DVD drive is coming out in three weeks at less than $500. Sony wants to turn video (movie) technology into a war not unlike the video game console wars. Unfortunately, they are going to lose this one, because the 360 is already out, HD DVD is coming very soon, and Sony is already taking a huge risk/loss on the PS3.

    I can't say I feel sorry for them, being proprietary is inherently consumer unfriendly, so they have an uphill marketing battle ahead of them. (I realize that HD DVD is pretty proprietary, too, but it is first and less expensive and that will make a huge marketing difference)
    • Amen! HD-DVD, once thought to be the clear loser in the HD format war, is actually coming out a day early and $500 short ($500 short of the $1000+ Blu-ray players, that is). Right now, blu-ray's best hope is the PS3. And the more it gets pushed back, the more tenuous blu-ray's position is going to be.

      Frnakly, I expect the PS3 to get pushed back even more. I doubt we'll see it in the U.S. until well into 2007.

      -Eric

    • Has the xbox360 had the right amount of "MUST HAVE" games? not according to the reviews I've seen so far. As for the whole HD DVD/Blu-Ray war, HD-DVD will be for videophiles, Blu-Ray for everyone who wants the latest Sony console.

      Holiday season means the PS3 wlil get all the christmas sales (anything over new year's would be a real disaster). Combined with the rather slow roll-out of HDTV titles (less than 100 on either side at launch) AFAICanTell, is it too slow? Not really.

      It all boils down to price. And
      • exactly. prototyping costs will be recouped from royalties and licensing fees. with the number of dev stations theyve sent out and the number of games already under development, i would say that they are on their way [or at least started] getting back in the black from r&d.

        hd-dvd may have a head start, but blu-ray has the studio support. what good does it do to have a sub $500 hddvd player when the movies you want to watch are being released by a studio that only supports blu-ray? last time i checked, s
      • Genius signature...I just wish that more programmers understood that marketing really is a necessity.

        But more on topic-

        I'm a big Xbox fan, have a 360, etc. etc. I also USED to be a big HDTV fan. I thought it was the best thing since sliced bread. Until I finally set my TV back to 480p, instead of the higher resolutions.

        Guess what- no big difference.

        I'm really not in that big of a hurry for any HD disc format. Once you get beyond crap quality analog cable, everything else is good enough.
    • by Perseid ( 660451 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @12:12PM (#14858413)
      I don't think so. The format war isn't going to actually start for quite a while. HD-DVD is going to be prohibitively expensive for the average consumer when it comes out and few people have HDTVs at the moment, making DVDs good enough for the average schmo right now.

      Since Sony is going to make the PS3 a loss leader, it might actually be cheaper than comparative HD-DVD players when it comes out. And while many people might wait to see which player comes out on top in the format wars before deciding on a player, you know millions of people are going to instantly start salivating as soon as the preorder slips go out for the PS3. Having a game console push your format is as big of an advantage as Sony says it is. Is it big enough? We'll see, of course, but I don't feel this hurts Sony much, if at all.
    • I don't know about you but I'd consider a game console infinitely more useful than a disc drive. Noone* will plunk down 500$ on a drive whereas 400$ for a game system is a lot more reasonable. Mostly because a game system will be useful the moment it's available as opposed to having to wait for special media to come out and needing a special kind of TV in order to even take advantage of the new format.

      *Someone will but that's too few to count.
  • When can I pre-order one?

    Given the trouble I had getting an Xbox 360 (still don't have it) and a PS2 (I had to write a script to crawl amazon.com and make an alarm go off when it found "add to cart"), I'd like to just plain pre-order one this time, and save all the hassle.
    • This may surprise you, but pre-ordering didn't help the xbox buyers any
    • Re:Pre-Orders? (Score:3, Informative)

      by tgd ( 2822 )
      I assume you're not looking anymore for the 360?

      I seen them all the time. This last weekend, the Walmart, Target, and Circuit City stores near me I went into all had them. Warmart looked like it only had core systems, but thanks to my first 360 dying and MS replacing the console with a whole new console+harddrive, I have a spare drive. I almost picked one up so my girlfriend and I wouldn't have to fight for 360 time.

      In either case, are they really still hard to find in other parts of the country? I'm not ou
    • Perhaps the answer is not to pre-order?

      At least here in the UK, you can now buy XBoxes on ebay for less that the highstreet price. A core system with two controllers just went for 170 pounds about five minutes ago, they're over 200 pounds in the shops.
    • Yeah, I've heard from a couple of friends that pre ordered that they got their systems, but only after a few weeks of waiting after the release day. Pre-ordering will get you a system, but you don't know exactly when. I had a buddy that went to a Target and got in line really early for a 360 on release. He got one, because not everyone thinks of waiting in line at a store like target, most everyone goes and waits in line at the big electronics stores.
      • I missed one by 5 minutes at a Target because I made the mistake to try Fred Meyer first. If I'd have tried Target first, I'd have been able to get one. Or woken up 10 minutes earlier.

        Oh well.

        Note that I woke up at 5:30 AM on launch day and I still only missed it by 5 minutes. If I had *really* wanted one, and had gotten there at midnight or 2:00 or so, I'd have been a shoe-in at either Fred Meyer or Target. So yes, I agree with your advice: skip the Best Buys, go to the large department stores that ha
    • Re:Pre-Orders? (Score:5, Interesting)

      by Guppy06 ( 410832 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @12:29PM (#14858597)
      Try post-ordering. Wait six months after release and you'll be fine.

      The launch games you want will still be available, and perhaps even marked down.

      For all the effort you went through to get your PlayStation 2, wouldn't you want to keep playing it for a few more months?
    • Order lots of stuff with it, at the XC launch retailers allocated units to preorders based on how much additional stuff was ordered with the console, not when the order was placed.
  • Isn't that when it was supposed to come out?

    Also, will they be able to offer it at a more reasonable price than was stated in earlier articles (assuming that the other figures were for if it was released earlier)?

    And, most importantly, will it run Linux?

  • Smart move I guess. I doubt this will affect US Release, But what I'm really interested to know is what Xbox360 features are they going to include in the system with this delay. I'm sure the released specs are going to change just as they change their minds about a central PS-Online system.
    Ah and by holidays, BD drives should be less expensive and the 900 bucks to manifacture projection will fall apart.
    • I hope (for Sony's sake), they are adoption the system for online distribution of "indie" games; I hear it's going pretty well for MS.
    • You're optimistic. You expect them to delay 6 months and: 1) be ready for a NA & Japan release on day one which is not what they were planning to do originally 2) The blue-ray price to come down significantly before the first major sales period for the devices (Christmas 06) 3) Develop a XBOX Live This is not good for Sony. They are going to have a launch against a mature XBOX 360 that can drop its price and won't be selling at a major loss. That's not a good position to be in. Sony can't a
    • Smart move I guess. I doubt this will affect US Release

      I don't know about that. We all know how shipping in the US, Japan, and Europe in roughly the same time has affected 360 availability. Loads of 360s in Japan, but scarce everywhere else. If it shipped in the US first, and then everywhere else a month or two later, then the availability problems probably wouldn't have been as bad for those in the US.

      If Sony is aiming to ship in US and Japan around the same time (and it'd be crazy to miss the holiday '06
  • Rumours! (Score:5, Funny)

    by OK PC ( 857190 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @10:30AM (#14857529)
    I wish Slashdot would stop running all these unsubstaniated rumours about the PS3 dela... Oh wait!

    P.s. Variety went down quick!
  • by Anonymous Coward on Monday March 06, 2006 @10:31AM (#14857539)
    First off, this article is really more focused on Sony's various troubles and not on the PS3 in particular, so after wading through the stuff on Sony's failing entertainment businesses (with no mention of "root kit" or "copy protection"...), I was hoping to see something on the projected price.

    Nope.

    Instead, we get: "If PS3 'delivers what everyone thinks it will, the game is up,' Stringer boasts."

    "If?!" So, in other words, the PS3 won't be delivering what everyone thinks it will. Which, ironically enough, I think everyone already knew. Essentially it sounds like the entire game-plan for the PS3 is to sneak Blu-ray into a consumer market that otherwise doesn't want it, to hell with games. Really encouraging.

    From the article: "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."

    "Fine-tunes", huh? So, in other words, the rumors of an almost $1000 price tag for the system weren't too far off, and Sony has to delay until they can get the cost down to something that people might actually pay for. But he can't actually say that, of course.

    Ultimately it sounds like the PS3 is Sony trying to abuse a monopoly it doesn't have to force Blu-ray into the market place. Yeah, that might work.
    • So, in other words, the rumors of an almost $1000 price tag for the system weren't too far off, and Sony has to delay until they can get the cost down to something that people might actually pay for. But he can't actually say that, of course.

      It should go without saying that units won't fly off of shelves at a $1,000 price point. If that's really what the price tag is on those things right now, then Sony would do just as well to wait until they can strike a balance between what consumers are willing to
  • The article doesn't say that Stringer said that. They just throw the holiday release date out there as if it was fact. I am sick of stupid rumors and horrible summaries.
    • the article says to expect the ps3 by the holiday season. it quickly follows with a stringer quote. stringer didnt say anything about the release date.

      truth doesnt get mod points. esp when no one else reads the article.
  • A bad thing? (Score:5, Insightful)

    by hunterx11 ( 778171 ) <hunterx11@g3.1415926mail.com minus pi> on Monday March 06, 2006 @10:40AM (#14857586) Homepage Journal
    From a sales perspective, wouldn't the holiday season be a good time to release a product like this?
  • That's it (Score:1, Interesting)

    by Kamalot ( 674654 )
    I'll be picking up an Xbox 360. The more I read about Sony't PS3, the less and less I want one. Sony is now showing a lot of confidence these days and I'm jumping ship. I cen't believe how nice my friend's Xbox 360 is and I want in on the action NOW!

    See you on Live.
  • According to Next Generation, Stringer did not confirm a holiday launch. The Variety server seems to be on fire already, so I haven't had a chance to look at what exactly they claim.

    http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_conte nt&task=view&id=2411&Itemid=2 [next-gen.biz]
  • Is holiday '06 for Japan or the US? We already have known from prior interviews that the Japan release will be first (and probably have many more consoles for sale). This could push the U.S. release of the PS3 into the realm of March '07.

    Market analysts (non M$) are predicting 5.5 million Xbox360's sold by June and around 12-15 million by the end of the year. Certain PS3 fanboys will buy a PS3 no matter when it is released, but why will the average family buy a PS3 when they have a 360 and a solid c
    • Market analysts (non M$) are predicting 5.5 million Xbox360's sold by June and around 12-15 million by the end of the year. Certain PS3 fanboys will buy a PS3 no matter when it is released, but why will the average family buy a PS3 when they have a 360 and a solid collection of games?.

      Because the "average family" does NOT have an Xbox360 or a "solid collection of games." IIRC, there are just around 2 million xboxes actually sold so far. In comparison, there are 20 million gamecubes, 20 million Xboxes, and

      • Actually, of the two families I've had (host family in Japan and real one in America), both seem to be happy with older stuff. The Japanese one has all sorts of fun on their Super-Famicom, and the suburbanite one loves the NES. Of course, since the "average person" loves high-def fps games (not puzzle or platformer, of course), 360 should be selling like hotcakes.
        • The average console gamer does NOT love high def fps games. The average PC gamer DOES. Halo sold generally well on the Xbox (about 5 million per title) but it (and most fps'es) have been grossly outsold by the Marios, Maddens, Grand Theft Autos, etc.
  • It's a rather long-winded article about many Sony topics, here's an extract of the text that addresses the PS3's "delay" and Blu-Ray:

    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
  • Halo has historically been released in November...perhaps old Billy didn't misspeak...
  • Hmm, Sony not being accurate with their predications.... Thats Odd..

    Did he happen to mention if it will be able to render Toy Story in real time??
  • by rabbot ( 740825 )
    shucks, by the time the Rev and PS3 come out, the Xbox 2 will be old news. Maybe that's Sony's plan.
  • Considering the fact that they've basically showed almost nothing about the PS3. They havent even shown it in its final form. Instead showing empty boxes and demos running on giant development kits. Hopefully E3 can shed some light on what their status is.
  • Maybe this has been said before and if it has, I'm sorry. But I have an XBOX 360 and I like it. I think Microsoft did a decent job with it. I'll admit, there are several things that Microsoft could have done better, backwards compatibility being the big one.

    The thing that I think really hurt the XBOX 360 is the lack of a big launch game. The original XBOX had Halo. XBOX 360 had no one "big" game at launch, and still doesn't have that "big" game. This doesn't mean that Perfect Dark Zero or Call of Dut

    • Someone please correct me if I am wrong, but I could have sworn that the original Halo was NOT an XBOX launch title. I could have sworn it came out later and then quickly gave people a reason to buy XBOX.

      Can anyone confirm?
  • Note that, in fact, they will be in the stores before Halloween (the important Thanksgiving to Christmas season), but they're delaying them to allow for any needed tech fixes to Blu-Ray hardware. They are releasing the Blu-Ray discs for music and movies first, working out the bugs, and then will ship the PS3 with any hardware glitches fixed.

    From the article: "Now, electronics and games can take center stage, although major questions loom at those divisions as well.

    Sony's new PlayStation 3 was widely expect
    • dang, sorry, forgot the close bracket for bold. my apologies. should have been unbolded after the first sentence.
    • by jchenx ( 267053 ) on Monday March 06, 2006 @03:34PM (#14860565) Journal
      I haven't had any problems with my 360 console itself. It sits happily in my entertainment shelf, with the power brick sitting behind the TV on the carpet. No disc reading problems, which plagued me on the Xbox and PS2. (With the PS2, I did the whole "tilt it vertical" to get it to work with some games)

      I did have an issue with a controller charger. I had to get a new one and now it works fine.

      I know a few other folks with 360s, and no one has had any problems either. Either we're just lucky, or they know the proper way to keep it ventilated and such. I'm also on a listserv with probably over 100 360 owners too, and only a few people have reported problems. I don't know exactly how many 360 owners there are, since it'd be pretty annoying to have a "raise your hand if you own a 360!" thread going.

      I see a lot of complaints about the 360 hardware, but it seems like it's so anecdotal. Usually it's folks complaining that don't even have the console ... they just read about it on the Internet. And obviously, those folks are going to be a lot more prevalant on sites like Slashdot, which aren't friendly to MS by any means. *shrugs* I imagine we'll see the same complaints when the PS3 ships, since there are plenty of Sony haters as well (rootkit anyone?).

      For those who care, here's my philosophy with defects: Are there occasional problems with the hardware? Absolutely! Every hardware product is going to have some defect rate. That's what return departments are for. Unfortunately, it's pretty common to happen in the console space. Anyone remember the PSP "dead pixel" problem? Or the rants about the original GBA's bad design (lack of backlighting)? Or the many "dirty disc" errors with the PS2 and Xbox? What WOULD be nice is to see actual statistics on how often 360s have to be returned, and then compare it to how other consoles fared (especially when they first started). However, I can't imagine that being made public information by MS, Sony, or Nintendo.

      So, why not make a product that is 100% guaranteed to work every single time, in whatever situation you put it in? Well, you COULD do that, but either the cost of the unit will go up, or it'll take a lot longer to go out. Meanwhile, you have a lot of enthusiasts which will take whatever you have and run with it. I'd say the ideal is to get something that works the vast majority of the time, for the vast majority of cases. Let's say 95%. For the 5% that get screwed, again, that's what return departments are for. It's cheaper to funnel those folks through returns, instead of making the product absolutely idiot proof and NASA-safe.

      But that's just me. Then again, I'm not one of those unlucky 5%, so to each his own. (And it seems to me that the defect rate for the 360 is lower than 5%, but that's just my own guesstimate)
    • I have a 360 and, to be fair, mine's not one of the first-out-of-the-gate but it's the second shipment, so maybe problems were fixed.

      But so far I have no complaints whatsoever except one: They made the controller a bit too small, and my hands get sore a LOT quicker than the controller-S on regular Xbox, especially during Dead or Alive 4. Also, removal of the white button really screwed me up in Halo 2 because I forgot how to turn on my radio and talk to teammates. ;) (FYI, you can use Up on the d-pad, or
  • Where's the announcement? Where's the quote from Stringer?

    Because I sure don't see either in TFA.

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