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.

Comments

Too much cutting edge stuff

[hattig]

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.

Re:Too much cutting edge stuff

[kai.chan]

In the end the PS3 will be marginally better than the XBox360, and is that worth being a year later?

Here are the games I missed out because I didn't get the Xbox:
Halo, Ninja Gaiden, various PC ports

Here are the games that I would have missed out on if I got the Xbox instead:
Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest, Metal Gear Solid, Gran Turismo, Devil May Cry, God of War, Virtua Fighter, Soul Calibur 3, Shadow of the Colossus, etc, etc.

I get my FPS fix on the PC with keyboard and mouse, so really, the question comes down to: Is Ninja Gaiden really worth all the other games that I don't get on the Xbox? ~50% of the console market didn't think it was worth it, while ~25% -- likely people without a PC -- thought it was.

Spring = June

[dubiousx99]

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.

Conflicting Statements?

[Flaming Babies]

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...

Screw the delay

[Lord Apathy]

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.

Re:Screw the delay

[Albanach]

The $900 figure was an analysts estimate of the build cost.

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)

Re:Screw the delay

[The-Bavis]

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.

Re:Screw the delay

[Babbster]

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.

Re:Delay?

[CaymanIslandCarpedie]

Agreed. I hate how people always rag on Duke Nukem Forever just because its been delayed a bit! As long as it has few bugs when released whats the big deal?

Spring? Absolutely not.

[UES]

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.

Re:Delay?

[Miraba]

I realize that any delay will harm them as a corporation, and possibly drive up the system price, but these are relatively minor concerns.

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.

Re:Pretty much expected

[badasscat]

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.

Re:Subversion

[cxreg]

"Don't listen to a corporation that is not truthful, manipulates the marketplace, and uses unfair competitive practices. Instead, buy from Microsoft!"

PS3 will be so revolutionary..

[Lord Bitman]

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.

Re:Delay?

[MikeFM]

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.

Re:Delay?

[prator]

By the time DNF comes out, it should be so well tested that it fixes bugs in other programs in the vicinity.