PS3 worldwide release in November

[pApA SmerF01]

From the front page...

Today Ken Katurangi, Sony Game Chief, announced at the Playstation business brief that the PS3 will launch worldwide in November this year, with one million units per month to be shipped.

The following statements were also made at the special briefing:

The PS3 will be 100% backwards compatible, and all legacy titles played on the system will be displayed at high-definition resolutions (ala Xbox 360).
All games will ship on Blu-Ray discs. This is to help combat piracy.
A hard drive will be required and the PS3 will ship with it out of the box. It will have a 60GB capacity, be completely upgradeable, and support the Linux OS.
The Playstation 3 online service (mysteriously it does not seem to have been directly referred to as “the HUB”) will feature lobby matching, voice chat and also “commerce features”. The basic version of the service will be free.
Final PS3 dev kits are shipping out to production houses in June. There are also 15 different companies making tools and middleware for the SDK.

I must admit, it is a surprise that sony would be attempting a worldwide launch....but one thing is eluding me....

1 million per month worldwide....split that 3-way between u.s. japan and europe, that makes roughly 300,000 per sector per month, which translates to 600,000 by the end of 2k6 per sector per month.

that's not very much for a holiday...considering they would be expecting high demand.

Also notice how they didn't touch on the price of the console. Now if the harddrive is included, how much will it cost?

What do you guys think? Is this subject to change? And if not, are they going to run into the same shortages as the 360? Are they giving 360 too much time to ship out orders? And finally, what now do you think the price will be with a 60GB hdd?

[Justin Buser]

6 million are said to be coming in 2006 - updated the article

[LordGee]

Finally Sony gives a release date !!!

Well I only have a few comments about what was announced:

1) The release date doesn't really surprize me cause it's near the holiday season and all. That period helps to develop demand. But a worldwide launch ? Hard to say if they'll actually be able to do so.

2) No price announced ! Now THAT worries me !!! They gave all the technical info about the console, but no price tag ??? The announcement of a competitive price would have been THE announcement to actually keep the ps3 fans waiting and in the same time give an elbow hit to M$ (you know, get the competition going!)... But they didn't. Therefore my only guess is that the machine will NOT be cheap. It'll probably be more expensive than the 360. Especially if Sony can't allow themselves to lose A LOT of money on each console sold.

3) The online service capabilities of PS3 seems it was just added (recently) to compete with the XBL service... Hummm... how awkward... If they didn't actually think about the thing from the beginning, it might end up being a rushed out service. And THAT is not good news!


In the end, I guess we'll just have to see what happens...

[KH0RNE]

I found this post in response to the article about the ps3 launch, this guy is talking to the other fanboys who are ecstatic about the launch news. He sounds like the only one with any brains.

I'm not excited at all. Why should I be? I can't decide whether all of the posts here are funny or I should weep for you in pity. Of all the things that Sony has claimed since E3 of last year how many promises have they kept? That's right very few. So why should I believe any of these announcement? The most likely scenario is that just like their spring release it will get pushed back or they will not release worldwide. If they do great, but considering Sonys devious marketing strategies I must follow a "I'll believe when I see it approach". You people really are pathetic, you will believe anything.

[cablekiller]

I don't think Sony could pull off a worldwide launch. They just don't have the monetary resources that M$ does.

[KH0RNE]

Originally Posted by cablekiller

I don't think Sony could pull off a worldwide launch. They just don't have the monetary resources that M$ does.

I agree.
And just what do they mean by worldwide? Does that mean in Japan, Europe and the US at the same time because MS didn’t even do that. I don’t think that sony can do it in all regions in the same month let alone simultaneously. Also I would bet my right nut that this “launch date” gets pushed back, any takers?

[C Dub]

Originally Posted by Matt

6 million are said to be coming in 2006 - updated the article

Please get your facts straight. 6 million will not be available in 2006. Sony says 6 million by Fiscal Year 2006 which for Sony ends in March 2007.

[Confuuscious]

Delays PlayStation 3 Console ReleaseadvertisementRelated information E-mail this article Print-friendly versionStocks mentioned in this articleSony Corporation (ADR)(SNE) Stock Quote, Chart, News

All Associated Press NewsSAN JOSE, Calif. (AP) - Sony Corp. will delay the launch of its much-anticipated PlayStation 3 console until November, prolonging the agony not only for itself but also for many others in the video game industry.

Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony's video games division, said Sony is still trying to finalize the copyright-protection technology and other standards for the Blu-ray DVD disc, the high-definition video format for PlayStation 3 and other next-generation DVD players.

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The PlayStation 3 is critical for Sony's profits and brand image, so the delay from its promised "spring" debut is a major setback for the Japanese electronics and entertainment company as it struggles to mount a recovery after several years of poor earnings.

"I'd like to apologize for the delay," Kutaragi said Wednesday at a hastily called news conference in Tokyo after reports of it surfaced in publications. "I have been cautious because many people in various areas are banking on the potential of the next-generation DVD."

Blu-ray preparations were initially to have been completed by last September, but now won't be finalized until next month, he said.

Speculation of a delay had been growing in the last few months as Sony's "spring" launch drew nearer without any confirmation of a specific date.

Still, the now-confirmed half-year lag from the predominant console maker will sting.

Already, sales of video games have slowed as customers have been withholding purchases and waiting to switch to new models of game consoles.

In 2005, video game sales fell 5 percent to $7 billion in the United States, according to market research firm NPD Group. And Electronic Arts Inc., the world's largest video game publisher, saw its net income fall by nearly a third in its pivotal holiday quarter.

Now the industrywide decline will continue, and possibly worsen each month, with sales of current-generation console games falling as much as 35 percent from year-ago periods, predicted analyst Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities.

In addition to the PlayStation 3, consumers had been waiting for Microsoft Corp.'s new Xbox 360, which debuted last November with supplies falling short of demand. Also, Nintendo Co., maker of Game Boy machines, is set to release its next-generation Revolution console later this year.

Microsoft spokeswoman Molly O'Donnell said Sony's delay won't change Microsoft's strategy. "We've blasted out of the gate with the greatest launch in the history of video games and we're keeping our eyes squarely fixed on today and on the Xbox 360 road ahead," she stated in an e-mail.

The PlayStation 3 delay will likely help Microsoft and Nintendo chip away at Sony's 60 percent global market share, but analysts think Sony will still reign. Sony has shipped nearly 204 million machines worldwide when combining shipments for the original PlayStation and its upgrade PlayStation 2.

"It'll sell 20 million PS3s in the next couple of years no matter what," Pachter said.

The PlayStation 3 console can be used as a Blu-ray DVD player, but will also read previously released PlayStation and PlayStation 2 games, Kutaragi said. It will also have a 60-gigabyte storage drive, broadband and wireless Internet connections and support for high-definition televisions.

The company is expecting monthly production of 1 million machines, and targeting production of 6 million units for the fiscal year ending March 2007, Kutaragi said.

The significance of the Blu-ray DVD technology in the console could not be ignored, analysts say. At stake are billions of dollars in royalties from movie or game providers that will use the format.

Blu-ray is competing against another high-definition disc format called HD DVD, backed primarily by Toshiba Corp. Both formats are making their product debuts this year.

As electronics makers, including Sony, plan new Blu-ray DVD machines, the PlayStation 3 is considered a way for Sony to sneak the Blu-ray format into households that may not necessarily be ready to buy a separate Blu-ray player.

*********** So with the new PlayStation 3, consumers would get not only the latest game console, but also the latest DVD technology, for a price that Sony has said will not exceed $500. ****************

The announcement came after the close of the Tokyo Stock Exchange, but earlier news reports sent Sony's stock tumbling 1.8 percent to 5,470 yen ($46) Wednesday.

In the United States, however, Sony's American depositary shares rose 17 cents, or less than 1 percent, to close at $46.68 on the New York Stock Exchange, off a four-year high of about $51 from late January.

Shares of video game publishers also advanced modestly Wednesday.

U.S. analysts said Sony's announcement brought some relief. The new timeline means that the PlayStation 3 will hit store shelves simultaneously in Japan, North America and Europe, just in time for holidays.

"We believe this is the single biggest issue to drive these stocks over the next nine months, as investors have worried about a PlayStation 3 slip into 2007," American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy wrote in a report.

But the delay still means Sony won't benefit from the new product until November. Its game revenues will likely hurt, said Toshiaki Nishimura, analyst for Yasuda Asset Management Co.

Also, Sony "still has a number of obstacles to surmount before it can achieve a simultaneous global launch of PS3 in November," Merrill Lynch analyst Hitoshi Kuriyama said in a research note. "We will need to keep close tabs on whether any further delays emerge because postponing the launch will worsen the company's competitive position."

Sony, which also has movie and music businesses, was battered in recent years by declining electronics prices. Since Welsh-born Howard Stringer took over last year as the first foreigner to head the company, Sony has been trying to achieve a turnaround.

___

Associated Press writers Yuri Kageyami in Tokyo, Christopher Wang in New York and Allison Linn in Seattle contributed to this report.

© 2006 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.

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[ChiTownPlayer]

I talked with some guys from EBGames not sure if they know what they are talking about but anyway they are saying the systems will be around $700 EACH. The reason is that is has the HD DVD player, those HD DVD run around $500. Also they are going to do a FEE based LIVE like XBOX (M$). There is only going to 1 million sold. Xbox had 3 million in the U.S. and look how hard it was to get that so the PS3 will be way up there on the EBAY charts!

Anyway just something I heard and thought I would pass it along....not sure how true it is. Also they told me they are not taking deposits at this time becuase they are unaware of the exact release date.

[Wingman1977]

Originally Posted by ChiTownPlayer

I talked with some guys from EBGames not sure if they know what they are talking about but anyway they are saying the systems will be around $700 EACH. The reason is that is has the HD DVD player, those HD DVD run around $500. Also they are going to do a FEE based LIVE like XBOX (M$). There is only going to 1 million sold. Xbox had 3 million in the U.S. and look how hard it was to get that so the PS3 will be way up there on the EBAY charts!

Anyway just something I heard and thought I would pass it along....not sure how true it is. Also they told me they are not taking deposits at this time becuase they are unaware of the exact release date.

The price hasn't been announced so don't belive them.They are just speculating (even though it will be very expensive). Sony will announce the price and the which day in November it will be released at E3.

[Scotracer]

Well Sony is a vast corporation so one cannot doubt the possibility of maybe they sell each PS3 for a large loss. Just so they can keep in competition with MS and Nintendo.
They already are behind in terms of release and 3rd party support that is immediatly available, so for them to loose anymore ground because of cost would be a grave marketing and economical mistake for the company. They are a wise corporation and will not make too many mistakes....you have been warned.