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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.
If it means having a better system with fewer bugs and more launch titles, I can't see how a delay would be bad from an end-user perspective. I realize that any delay will harm them as a corporation, and possibly drive up the system price, but these are relatively minor concerns. Then again, most manufacturers already sell the system itself at a loss.
The only thing Sony really needs to worry about time-wise is beating the Revolution out of the gates. Given that details on the Nintendo system are still sketchy at best, this probably isn't a concern either.
Wow, only like 4 days to respond... They must have Dick Cheney's public relations team or something...
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.
One thing nobody is asking Sony is where they will ship in Spring. Might be Japan only. Even so, with the tepid response to the 360 in North America (made worse by the shortages), and the complete rejection of the 360 in Japan, Sony stands to make a killing... if they can do this right.
Sound about right, launch in mid June in Japan and then be ready to launch in November in the U.S. Launching a console in the first quarter of a calendar year in the U.S. just sounds like suicide to me.
In this article, a "spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment" says that the launch could be pushed back if industry specifications on some of the PS3 were not decided soon...
The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.
Screw the delay, what about the price? Are they denying the damn thing is going to cost 900 bucks? If they are not they might as well delay the thing to judgement day. I don't know anyone that is going to reach up their ass and pull out 900 bucks for a video game.
For that kind of scratch I could buy a xbox360, a few games, and still have enough left over for a night with a couple of high priced call girls.
Supporting World Peace Through Nuclear Pacification
"if it means more launch titles"
If the hardware was finished, why the hell would you wait for launch titles? Isn't it better to have the system now with the games available and buy them as they are released? This way you have more time to play the best games.
I've never understood why someone would want to wait 6 more months to have 6 more games to play, when they could have been playing the first 10 already.
Why do people actually listen to market analysts?
For the most part, the ones that actually get any mention in the media are the ones that make the most outrageous and (typically) false claims. At this point in time the PS3 may be delayed but it would likely be a short delay of a couple of months (possibly a november launch rather than a september launch) and may cost more than people would expect ($450 rather than $350-$400) but there is no way that it is going to be delayed into 2007 and cost $900.
The truth is that most analysts have worse connections to people "in the know" than many slashdotters and have less understanding of the market than most slashdotters, so why do we even read articles that mention them; I'm certain that many people are in the same boat as me, and know people who work for large developers like EA and UBI soft, and have heard small bits of information which discredit all of these analysts estimates.
It is depressing that companies have to produce press conferences in order to deal with these wild claims.
I didn't figure Sony to be that stupid.
I didn't figure Sony would be that scared.
I can't help but feel that the XBox has Sony executives a little nervous, especially regarding the EU and US markets. The 360 has been incredibly well received by most of the developers I've spoken to, and public interest/desire for the machine is also high. It almost seems that people who were dissapointed by the final PS2 product are more wary of Sony's marketing/hype attempts this time, especially as MS has released a reasonable product, which has been well marketed, unlike the previous machine to be a front runner in the next gen market, the Dreamcast.
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.
Sony will keep leading on consumers with the PS3 like a carrot dangled in front of an ass. The only reason they keep insisting that the PS3 will be released in Spring is to prevent people from buying a 360.
The pulled the same shenanigans with the PS2, effectively killing the Dreamcast. They are trying it again.
Don't be a tool. Don't listen to Sony.
"Any of this happening yet?"
Of course not. Sony has said 2 things recently in press released:
1) They will launch in Japan first and
2) They will not sell the console "at a loss."
This will push back a US release date till at LEAST late 3rd quarter, and push the release price most likely at about double the price of a $300 Xbox360.
Sony *needs* to pony up and strip out the Blu-Ray drive. They are trying to push their own media technology and its costing the average gamer hundreds of dollars. A 10gig dual layer DVD is enough for any game in this generation since Sony is not doing 1080p.
That being said, it seems like a very short time to announce the features of the system, game lineup and to get everything ready and shipped.
Done, partly done, and all that's left in your mind I guess.
Yep. I don't really know where people are getting this "work in progress" thing. The system is not out yet, it's not in production yet, so why does everyone expect there to be playable units running final game copy on them floating around every time there's a press conference or convention anywhere? You'll get playable units once production has started.
The only thing that's left "in progress" - and Sony has made no bones about saying straight out that this is all that's holding the system up - is AACS for Blu-Ray movies. Yes, that horrible, evil DRM scheme again. That's it. They are waiting on the final spec before they can begin building machines, and that's expected to come within the next two weeks. Could it be delayed further? Sure, and Sony's gonna be screwed if it is. But it's not as if they don't know what hardware's going to be in this machine or what games are gonna be on it. They've got the machine designed, their hardware and software partners lined up, and their factories primed and ready. I'm sure they've got ants-in-the-pants right now just waiting to hit that "go" button.
All they are waiting for is AACS.
So I see no problem with them making a spring launch in Japan. Japanese launches, remember, rarely have more than 5-10 games associated with them, and Sony could put the hype machine in full gear as soon as they can announce a firm launch date. They could even make the end of April (Golden Week in Japan; the biggest holiday/vacation week in the country) if the AACS spec is finalized shortly, and I have no doubt that's their goal, as it always is for "spring" console launches there. Once a date is announced, you will see wall to wall TV commercials, subway ads, billboards, and every other form of marketing you can imagine in Japan - literally overnight. It's a small country with a lot of people in it; the speed at which a large and prepared company like Sony can swing into action would make your head spin. And it's not as if there hasn't been hype already; all of the game magazines and even mainstream news outlets have been covering the PS3, so consumers there are expecting it.
We'll see what happens with the managed-copy spec. But if it's finalized soon, Sony's launch expectations sound pretty realistic to me.
Playstation 3 will change the very definition of "spring". The rebirth of each year's springtime will become a shallow metaphore for the huge sweeping cultural and artistic changes which PS3 will bring to humanity as a whole.
-- 'The' Lord and Master Bitman On High, Master Of All
From the summary:
Sony is flatly denying the delay
Then, quoting the article:
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
Hmm... the PDF I read from Merrill Lynch's Joe Osha does NOT say Sony won't launch the PS3 in 2006. In fact it doesn't say when they will launch anything anywhere. He only speculates (and he is quite clear of this by using terms like "if" and "might" throughout the document) about how a possible delay might affect the industry, and how such a delay could both help and hinder Sony. Furthermore, his comments about a possible delay refer specifically to North America and Europe, which actually falls neatly in line with Sony's half-assed denial of a delay.
Funny how they can "flatly deny" his "allegations", and at the same time say nothing at all that clearly contradicts his speculative statements.
Hmmm...
Must... think up... something... clever!
Of course they're denying the delay. Sony, if you'll remember, lies. They'll do anything to blunt momentum of the 360. If they keep people thinking that the PS3 is just around the corner, they'll hold out just a little longer. And as long as they don't release specs, people can fantasize.
They are NOT shipping in Spring. No way. Not happening. Blu-Ray isn't even finished yet. There's no specs, no launch titles, nothing but empty shells and promises. They need time to work out their manufacturing process and build up stock for the retailers, and you can't exactly go into full-scale production when you don't even have finalized hardware.
They could take a page from the NVidia and ATI playbooks and paper-launch it, I suppose, but that would be the worst of all possible outcomes.... people will finally be able to make an intelligent choice whether the 360 or the PS3 is better, and by then, the 360 is likely to actually be available.
If Microsoft can execute and get some really good, next-gen games out, they could build up some momentum. The games that are out now are, to my perception, competent but not very exciting. They have good graphics, but there's not much new, gameplay-wise. Kameo has some good moments, but it's too short, and Perfect Dark feels very unpolished and unfinished. Project Gotham Racing is probably the best game so far, and it's just not that much different from the old games... the graphics are great, sure, but that's about all there is to it. (I've heard CoD2 is very good on the 360, but I already have it on the PC and it seemed dumb to buy it again.)
The Fight Night demo looks promising, I love how there's no on-screen gauges, just two fighters in a ring. And Oblivion may be truly next-gen content... we'll have to see.
So far, the best game I've played on the 360 is the $5 Geometry Wars. A $400 console to play a $5 game... and it's the best game on the system. Nintendo may be on to something.....
Oh, and to the AC who called me a 'good liddle fanboy' for saying that Sony wouldn't ship in Spring the last time we had this conversation.... here's a big middle finger just for you.
So, which fanboys / experts / developers want to tackle the following discouraging issues that I have with the Sony Playstation 3? (And, no, I'm not a plant for Microsoft -- just trying to make sense of the whole Next Gen console thing.)
Drive Speed
A Blu-ray 1x drive transfer rate is 4.5 megabytes per second. A DVD 12x drive transfer rate is about 12 - 16 megabytes per second. Sony will have to release at least a 3x drive to compete with DVD 12x speeds. Will they? Or will they release a 2x drive and have a drive that is significantly slower than the XBOX 360? (The Blu-ray specification has indicated that a 1x blu-ray drive is too slow for HD video, so I'm assuming that this isn't an option...)
HDTV 1080p
A screen at 720p has (720 x 1280 =) 921, 600 pixels.
A screen at 1080p has (1080 x 1920 =) 2,073,600 pixels.
That is, 1080p requires 2.25x the general bandwidth of 720p. Does the Playstation 3 really have 2.25 the general bandwidth of an XBOX 360? Is anyone going to develop games for 1080p at the cost of 2.25 x "other things"?
Anti-Aliasing
XBOX 360 gets AA practically for free thanks to 10 MB embedded DRAM. Apparently, the Playstation 3 must do this in software with a performance hit. Does it matter?
Unified Memory
The Playstation 3 has 256 MB system RAM and 256 MB video RAM. The XBOX 360 has 512 MB unified memory. This means that a developer could use 128 MB system RAM and 384 MB of video RAM, which is 50% more video RAM than a Playstation 3 for holding textures, etc. Isn't that fairly substantial? Won't that allow for the possibility of better looking / higher detail games on the XBOX 360 if the system RAM isn't needed?