RAM Supplier, Date Speculation For PS3

Andrew writes "A press release has announced that Sony have officially licensed XDR DRAM, a joint effort between Elpida, Toshiba, and Rambus, for use in their future Cell broadband technology apps, which should include the next incarnation of the PlayStation series." An additional report at Gamesindustry.biz suggests that "..it's likely that the vast bulk of Elpida's [DRAM] output will be destined for PlayStation 3", and speculates on the PS3's release date based on the DRAM's 2004/5 production schedule: "We're not gambling types, but if we were, we'd put money on a mid-2005 [Playstation 3] launch in Japan, followed by US and European launches only a few months apart later that year - perhaps September 2005 in the USA, and November 2005 in Europe..."