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Sony Denies PS3 Delay
Eurogamer reports that Sony is flatly denying the delay of the PlayStation 3. From the article: "Sakaguchi was responding to allegations made by Merrill Lynch analyst Joe Osha in a report published late last week, in which Osha claimed that the PS3 could launch in autumn in Japan, with a US launch possibly being delayed to early 2007. 'There is no change in our original plan to release the console in spring 2006," Sakaguchi told the press in Tokyo, referring to the company's only stated goal for the launch so far - namely that the console will appear in at least one territory, most likely Japan, this spring.' They have lots of opportunities at GDC and E3 to change the public perception that their next console is still very much a work in progress.
BluRay, Cell, ... it's going to add up.
Ideally the best time to launch a next generation console is when the media format is established. DVD was established when the PS2 came out and popularised it.
I feel the PS3 is trying to establish the format itself, but that means the format is brand new at console launch, expensive, with first generation issues, speed, etc.
Cell too is very ambitious. In the long term I think it will be a good decision though.
In the end the PS3 will be marginally better than the XBox360, and is that worth being a year later? In addition, the PS3 looks fugly in its mockups, whereas the 360 appears to be quite nice.
ObRevolution: And let's not forget about Nintendo's new console either, that could beat them both on price and gameplay features.
Others have already pointed out flaws in the analyst's figures, for example Sony won't pay licensing fees on Bluray, and Bluray drives will probably costs less than the analyst predicts + will fall in price rapidly.
The main point, however, is that this in no way pointed to the purchase price. Sony will have to compete in the sub $500 market and they know it. Sony will take a hit on hardware knowing they have revenue streams from games, accessories and imjportantly downloads (music, movies and games).
As the build price decreases Sony will eventually break even and at some point in the future, draw a profit on hardware too.
At no point will consumers pay $900 for a PS3 (unless they buy it on eBay the day after launch)
They won't come out and deny that type of overpriced estimate. It worked great for the PSP, which was going to cost you at least $500. When the PSP came out, it was a steal at $250 (thanks to slowly getting your mind used to some ridiculously higher price). You even got a free rag.
Is Sony's definition of Spring 2006 different than mine?
It's late February NOW. "Spring" probably means sometime between now and the end of June.
That's 19 weeks. So, sometime in the next 19 weeks, we would expect to see:
1. A complete list of launch titles.
2. Most, if not all launch titles not just in final version but manufactured and shipped.
3. Retailers to have full, detailed pricing information. Best Buy needs WEEKS of advance notice to print those Sunday Newspaper flyers.
4. Retailers to have PS3 sales spaces and media ready to go.
5. Complete PS3 specs and instruction manuals beyond some flack saying "uh, blue ray".
6. Teaser advertising beyond some Sony flack saying "any day now".
7. A full marketing and advertising press, including print, television, and web advertising. This needs to happen MONTHS before launch so that people will know this important product is coming soon.
8. Accessories not just announced but manufactured and shipped to retailers.
9. Preorders offered at major game retailers.
Any of this happening yet? Anyone think you'll be buying one of these in 8 weeks? 8 weeks from now is late April. Most people won't get the XBox 360s they ordered in DECEMBER until then.
Think again. The longer the delay, the more time the XBox 360 will have on the shelves as the lone next-gen console ("Now $249/$349!") and the less time they'll have until the Revolution launches ("Eh, I'll wait."). Remember that consoles sales will be reflected in game deals and the adoption of Blue-Ray. It's critical that they have a strong launch, and that means releasing in a fairly narrow window.
I'll wait as long as it takes if they just put out a killer system. Last time I checked PS2's were still outselling XBox 360's so it seems to hardly matter to Sony and they could, if needed, slash the PS2 prices to keep 360 sales low.
id, If I remember, has a motto of "When it's finished." or something like that. I think Sony should follow it. Don't let M$ trick them into releasing anything less than perfect. Let M$ be the one dealing with their consoles crashing and the power supplies catching fire.
At what price learning? At what cost wisdom? The price is a man's peace of mind, and the cost is his life.
Here's something I've been wondering about: At CES, all the talk about Blu-Ray referred to a price point of around $1,000 at launch for standalone players. If Sony releases the PS3 for less than $500 and it includes fully functioning Blu-Ray movie playback, wouldn't that really piss off their hardware partners? In fact, if the above is true (and I honestly don't have the slightest idea), I wouldn't be surprised if Blu-Ray manufacturers abandoned the format and went for HD-DVD instead (with units projected to launch at $500). That could really put in a crimp in the assumptions that Blu-Ray will a) be the dominant high-definition disc format and b) make Sony a ton of money to make up for whatever losses they take on PS3 hardware.