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PlayStation 3 Delay Official 322

Posted by Zonk from the you-owe-me-five-bucks dept.
An anonymous reader writes "It's official! PS3 has been delayed until November in Japan. Apparently, it's because of copy protection technology issues associated with Blu-ray." From the article: "Today, Sony officially conceded defeat to the recent flurry of rumors and speculation, with Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reporting the machine has been pushed back until November. There aren't many details out right now, but Sony says issues over the finalization of copy protection technology related to their Blu-ray disc drive is the cause of the delay. As the news is coming out of Japan, that creates a worrisome scenario for America and Europe."
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PlayStation 3 Delay Official

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  • Revolution before PS3? (Score:4, Interesting)

    by Erioll ( 229536 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:29PM (#14919279)
    If it's November for Japan, and they don't do the same launch date worldwide, could the Revolution be out before it? Isn't it supposed to be a worldwide release around that time?

    Maybe somebody with a better memory could put out some dates they've seen.

  • is it worth it? (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Amouth ( 879122 )
    You have to wonder if it is realy worth it..

    all they are doing is waiting to precect the way they can screw their customers, and making them wait for it.

    i realy hope no one buys a PS3, something needs to teach them a lessson

    • I don't think the PS3 is ready in many respects (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Nazmun ( 590998 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:38PM (#14919350) Homepage
      When the ps2 launched in November there was a shittun of info and games shown to the public (not random tech videos) in March of that year. The ps3 has almost nadda, i have gut feeling sony is just putting the blame on the blu-ray but i have a gut feeling they're having trouble in more places then one.
    • all they are doing is waiting to precect the way they can screw their customers, and making them wait for it

      Sony is now officially admitting that they will miss the Christmas season completely--even in Japan (if your shipments haven't reached retail customers by the end of October you have "missed Christmas"). No manufacturer in their right mind would voluntarily miss Christmas with a new product--especially in North America. If it involved a company's flagship product, it would mean certain death for tha

      • Maybe not "flagship," but maybe "most important" (Score:5, Informative)

        by MojoStan ( 776183 ) on Wednesday March 15, 2006 @12:58AM (#14921999)
        No manufacturer in their right mind would voluntarily miss Christmas with a new product--especially in North America. If it involved a company's flagship product, it would mean certain death for that company. The PS3 is not "the" flagship product for Sony but it'll still be a huge setback.
        I'm not sure how we should define "flagship product," but if operating income is the most important defining factor, then Playstation probably IS Sony's flagship product (at least to investors). Just look at the breakup of Sony's sales and operating income from 2003-2005:
        My summary of operating income from the link above:

        2003 Operating Income (Yen in billions)

        Electronics: 65.9
        Game: 112.7
        Music: -28.3
        Pictures: 59.0
        Financial Services: 22.8
        Other: -28.3
        2004 Operating Income (Yen in billions)
        Electronics: -6.8
        Game: 67.6
        Music: -6.0
        Pictures: 35.2
        Financial Services: 55.2
        Other: -12.1
        2005 Operating Income (Yen in billions):
        Electronics: -34.3
        Game: 43.2
        Music: 8.8
        Pictures: 63.9
        Financial Services: 55.5
        Other: -4.1
        Of course, Electronics (which doesn't include Playstation) has the largest portion of sales (66.5% in 2005). But Games (includes consoles) brought in the most operating income in 2003 and 2004. In 2005, Games income dropped below Pictures (movies, tv) and Financial Services, but maybe that's because the PS2 is becoming a stale platform.
    • Microsoft and the MPAA are giving Sony hell over blueray.

      Mainly because its drm lacks managed copies which Microsoft wants to help limit the piracy of windows and other microsoft products. So in return MS is backing HD-DVD.

      With everyone on board teh hd-dvd bandwaggon Sony might end up with another beta which it would like to avoid. So they are doing what they can to make sure they survive and the playstation3 will be pretty useless if it can't read industry standard hd-dvd only movies which will come out if

  • Dang!! (Score:5, Funny)

    by rlp ( 11898 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:31PM (#14919295)
    I was sooo looking forward to getting copy protection sooner than that.

  • I hope they pay the price. (Score:3, Insightful)

    by hal2814 ( 725639 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:32PM (#14919300)
    I hope they pay the price for their copy protection scheme. They're most likely going to miss Christmas in the US where presumably Nintendo will have a new console and Microsoft will have a fully stocked lineup of 360s ready to roll.
    • Right, because the Nintendo and Microsoft devices don't use any copy protection...
      • Look way, way up in the air. That's my point sailing over your head. I'm sure Nintendo will have copy protection and Microsoft certainly has it. However, they're not going around muffing system launches over it. If Sony is going to delay their entire launch over some copy protection concerns, I hope they lose a lot of customers over it. That copy protection is not doing one thing for me as a gamer and I don't plan on waiting one day to get a new system over a company's inability to get something like t

        • Re:I hope they pay the price. (Score:4, Insightful)

          by SyncNine ( 532248 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @07:57PM (#14920551)
          Personally, I'd rather they *didn't* botch the copy protection.

          Here's my point: If they botch the copy protection and it becomes easy to pirate games for it, lots of people will be buying the hardware, with less people buying the software. What that equates to is a major loss for Sony. I'm not a big fan of Sony, but I am a fan of them continuing to support the platform. And yes, before anyone starts whining about how people pirating games doesn't destroy a company, I agree. It doesn't. BUT -- It does cut into their profits on the system, and it does affect a developer's decision about creating games for the console.

          If it's as easy to pirate games on the PS3 as it was on the Sega Dreamcast, Sony's in for a lot of trouble. They'll lose money on each console they sell, then they won't make it back because people are pirating their games instead of purchasing them. Same goes for the developers. If they lose money creating games for the PS3, they'll stop producing as many games for the PS3.

          As a consumer, I'd say it does a lot more for me that they're securing their future than pushing a system out only to lose their hats on it. It does me more good for them to be producing games for this thing for the next 5 years than it does me for them to call it a failure because of screwed up copy protection that they rushed just to launch the platform on time. I'm aware of the implications this holds for Blu-ray, but personally, I don't care about HD-DVD/Blu-ray. I care about having new games to play on this console for the next many years.

          Just my opinion.

          • Re:I hope they pay the price. (Score:5, Insightful)

            by Mr2001 ( 90979 ) on Wednesday March 15, 2006 @03:53AM (#14922503) Homepage Journal
            If it's as easy to pirate games on the PS3 as it was on the Sega Dreamcast, Sony's in for a lot of trouble. They'll lose money on each console they sell, then they won't make it back because people are pirating their games instead of purchasing them.

            Who says Sony will lose money on each console they sell? They made money on PS2 sales.

            I hope the PS3 copy protection is enough of a failure to teach Sony a lesson: next time, they should focus on releasing a game console, not on harming consumers with DRM schemes.

            They don't need copy protection to be successful. As another poster mentioned, the original PlayStation was easily modded to play copied games, and yet it went on to be far more successful than its competitors. The Nintendo 64, for example, had much more effective copy protection - just try copying a rented cartridge game!

      • Re:I hope they pay the price. (Score:5, Insightful)

        by DorkusMasterus ( 931246 ) <dorkmaster1.gmail@com> on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:44PM (#14919420) Homepage
        They (Microsoft, Nintendo) do use copy-protection. However, since they (SONY) are trying to move their proprietary format of discs (BLU-RAY), they are in their own trap. So, yes, their digital rights are what screwed them up, and they're paying the price for being overly greedy. I also agree that they've set themselves up for this issue, and that they deserve whatever loss of market share occurs. I'm all for higher-capacity discs and a good working standard. However, if you're the company that MAKES THE DISCS AND THE PLAYERS, and you STILL can't make your stuff work the way you designed it to, then that's your own damn fault. YMMV.

    • This has wider implications than just the PS3. If they don't get the PS3 out in the USA by Christmas, then, I submit, that's the end of Blu-ray.

      Even if they do get it out by Christmas, there's the possibility of supply problems: if there are only half of the problems the 360 had, that too could well be enough to spell the end of Blu-ray.

      As of now, I think, HD-DVD is winning.

    • I hope they pay the price for their copy protection scheme.

      The good news:

      The "Image Constraint Token" (downsampling of HD content for analog outputs) is more or less dead.

      You won't see it invoked in the initial HD releases from SONY, Disney, Fox or Paramount. Warner may be the only significant hold-out. Not that 960x540 is half-bad:

      Sony, Others Won't Degrade HD Content on Analog Outputs [pcworld.com]

      Disney to release movies on HD DVD [tgdaily.com] The worst possible news for the Blu-Ray camp and something that will put enormous

      • 960x540 (Score:4, Interesting)

        by tepples ( 727027 ) <tepples.gmail@com> on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @07:52PM (#14920515) Homepage Journal

        Not that 960x540 is half-bad:

        A motion picture DVD on a progressive scan player is already 720x480 at 24fps or 720x576 at 25fps depending on TV system. Compared to DVD, 960x540 at movie frame rates is only 50% better than NTSC DVD and 25% better than PAL DVD. Is that so noticeable? Based on specs alone, it looks more like the difference between composite and S-video than the night and day that is progressive-scan DVD vs. HDTV.

    • Does anyone actually believe this reason? (Score:5, Insightful)

      by cgenman ( 325138 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @10:00PM (#14921209) Homepage
      They haven't shown a single playable game, ever.
      They haven't shown working hardware.
      They haven't even shown the non-terrible controller.

      And now they say that copyprotection is the reason for the delay?
      I'm not quite sure which emperical evidence to believe, but they were nowhere near hitting their ship for Spring. Without hardware, software, or even finalized images, what were they going to sell? The letters "3" "S" and "P" printed on little cards?

      They weren't ready, plain and simple. They probably held out announcing it for a little while in order to choke off X360 sales, but it has been clear for some time now. They just weren't ready.

  • Revolutionary DRM (Score:5, Funny)

    by RealErmine ( 621439 ) <commerce@@@wordhole...net> on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:32PM (#14919301)
    After all, isn't never launching the console really the best copy protection of all? This ultimate protection of Sony copyright will certainly be a gold mine!

  • translating is fun! (Score:2, Redundant)

    by Rydia ( 556444 )
    "newspaper Nihon Keizai Shinbun"
    turns into
    "newspaper Japan Business Newspaper"

    Shouldn't this story be from the department-of-redundancy-department?

    If you're talking about a foreign source, integrate it properly or translate!
    • Never translate names, ever. You only confuse people.

      We can do it with English names if you wish.

      Ruby - "Hello red stone"
      May - "Hello period of days of a defined number"

      It makes no sense to translate a name, because a name is a name. It transends languages and stays the same no matter what you say it in.
      • Comment removed based on user account deletion
        • I perfer Nihon/Nippon as a name yes. It sounds better and such, but the point is you still don't translate names. You wouldn't expect Japan to translate "BBC" for example, it would just be what it is.

          Also I'm pretty sure most places will have a different term for May and Ruby is an object, hence would have it's own name in these languages.

          It's just a fundamental rule of translating.. names remain as they are and if you want you put the meaning after it. For example "Nihon Keizai Shinhun (Japanese business n
        • Do you call Germany "Bundesrepublik Deutschland"?

          No, but from time to time I call it "Deutschland"...

          Refusing to integrate foreign language terms when talking about foreign stuff is just another way of propagating ignorance.

          It's pretty simple. If you translate "Nihon Keizai Shinbun" you've complicated the process of identifying the citation. If you don't leave that redundant "newspaper" qualifier in there, then the people who don't know any Japanese won't know what kind of publication it is. Is that so c
    • thats not as good as mainichi daily news.
  • Oh, there's a big surprise. That's an incredible... I think I'm going to have a heart attack and die, from that surprise.

  • Shocking news (Score:5, Funny)

    by Pluvius ( 734915 ) <pluvius3@gmai[ ]om ['l.c' in gap]> on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:34PM (#14919325) Journal
    How could anyone have predicted this turn of events!?

    Rob
    • >> How could anyone have predicted this turn of events!?

      You're right, it wasn't hard to see this coming. Even I predicted it [slashdot.org], despite having a rather cloudy crystal ball, so it must have been pretty obvious.

      What we're seeing here is the PS3's technological success being killed off by Sony's new overlords --- the lawyers waving the mighty banner of the company's new religion, content protection.

      Whether the PS3 will still succeed despite Xbox 360 and maybe the Revolution getting a competition-free run
      • So are you saying that Microsoft is going to shorten the console cycle to 3 years now? What's next, 2 years? 1 year? Might as well buy a PC then!

        Consoles exist because they have along life cycle.
  • I'll be honest, I'm not one for bandwagons, but I'm starting to get genuinely scared enough by all this SONY/DRM talk. If the delays are truly because they can't figure out a way to keep their media from becoming copied, or somesuch, then we're really in trouble. I was going to wait for a price war for getting either an 360 or PS3, and now the answer is clear. While 360 has its share of problems, to be sure, I'm definitely not waiting around for a DRM/copy-protection scheme that is half-baked, so Sony can make their delayed launch date, including all sorts of potential privacy problems.

    I used to consider all y'all who said SONY="privacy killa" luddites and conspiracy theorists... now I'm not so sure. PS3 just moved from "definitely an option" to "needs a killer-app to even consider".
    • To get blu-ray approved as the (or a) next home media for hdtv Sony will need the blessings of more movie studio's then their own. If it was a simple matter of their own games or movies then it wouldn't be much of an issue. They'd easily push the system out.

  • Microsoft must be loving this... (Score:5, Insightful)

    by Hamster Lover ( 558288 ) * on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:41PM (#14919379) Journal
    Microsoft must be clapping with glee over the delay of the PS3. I don't think it will make much difference though unless they get their shit together and start actually making enough 360s. It's my opinion the shortage situation has really hurt sales of the 360. There was a while there where it seemed supply had picked up as my local Best Buy looked to be getting a few a week. After humming and hawing I decided to get one and I've been trying to find one for about two weeks now. I've just given up for the time being. Maybe it's better to wait as Microsoft is sure to drop the price eventually, perhaps when the PS3 is actually released.
    • They're available on eBay. No problem. Core systems are going for about $325, and that price has been stable for weeks now.

      Since xmas, xBox systems have been easily available on eBay.

  • There are two things I see happening here.

    The first is that of a huge, monolith corporation stumbling under its own weight. I think a fair comparison would be a giant Hydra where all heads have to be happy in order to take one step forward. Of course, many Slashdotter-types have seen this coming, the time when the corporations comprising the media cartels will be driven to paralysis by issues like DRM, and this is only the beginning.

    The other is the disruptive force of Microsoft on the gaming industry.

    • "[...] the time when the corporations comprising the media cartels will be driven to paralysis by issues like DRM, and this is only the beginning."

      I'd also point out that history is repeating itself.

      One of the things that hurt Sony in developing a digital music player was the issue of DRM. "Oh, we can't sell a digital music player because people will have to rip their CDs and then they could share them with their friends over the Internet. The last thing we want to do is legitimize people ripping music fr

  • That's odd (Score:2, Insightful)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Isn't the copy protection in blu-ray (just like in hd-dvd) upgradeable? So why does the copy protection need to be done before launch? They could patch it later. This smells to me like there's some other, real reason for the delay, and they're just using the copy protection as a cover, an excuse.

    Oh well. At least this way there will be some actual games ready by the time the PS3 itself is done, and maybe they'll even have the time to make enough units to meet demand. We won't see a repeat of the XBox 360 la

  • One Potential Upshot, but huge downside (Score:5, Insightful)

    by LordZardoz ( 155141 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:49PM (#14919466)
    The only real upshot to this is that all PS3 games will essentially get a few more months of dev time to polish their titles, which may result in an unusually strong launch lineup.

    The downsides to this are numerous, though. Many people may discount Nintendo, but even with their declined marketshare, Nintendo is not the sort of company you want to give a chance to play catchup in any sort of way. This will also give Microsoft a bit more rope. Whether Microsoft uses that extra rope to hang its self or to help build some momentem for the 360 is another question entirely.

    Another problem is that the PS2 is already in decline, due to hype over the next generation of consoles. I am damn sure that while Sony would love to wring every last penny from that cash cow, that they dont want to let their best available retail offering to be the underdog against the 360 or Revolution for very long.

    Between a handfull of articles about a bunch of weak 'me too' potential features for the PS3, and the way that Nintendo is steadily edging out the PSP due to the PSP not having any high profile killer apps, Sony is looking alot weaker right now then I would have expected. And if history has proven anything in the game industry, even giants can fall.

    END COMMUNICATION
    • There's all sorts of mixed news about that with various people claiming to be/know/work for/sleep with the developers. If you believe the rosy stories, that they have final dev hardware and have had it for awhile then yep, nothing but a better lineup. However if you believe the horror stories, the copy protection thing might just be a smoke screen as the real problem is the devs are still playing with earily, problematic dev kits and have nothing to really test their games on for release. In that case the d

  • DRM Ate My Homework (Score:3, Interesting)

    by blueZhift ( 652272 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @05:51PM (#14919484) Homepage Journal
    It's kind of funny that they are blaming the delay in part on the DRM. If that's all it was then they might have launched with something provisional and then do a firmware upgrade later. Of course I know nothing of BluRay DRM, so just take that as talking out of my butt. Of more interest now are a couple of questions.

    1. Will they launch first in Japan or the U.S.?

    2. Will they miss Christmas in the U.S.?

    In the seemingly unlikely case that they go with a U.S. launch first, a couple of things could be noted. It could mean that Sony really _is_ worried about the Xbox 360 getting too far ahead in the U.S.. To add some more pain to this though is the prospect of a Nintendo launch in the U.S. in the same time frame. Even if Sony isn't worried about falling behind the 360, Nintendo is another matter.

    As for missing Christmas in the U.S., that's a real danger. But again, hard to gauge. The 3rd parties would definitely be pissed along with retailers. But Sony still has a strong brand, and let's face it, the PS3 is likely to sell well whenever it is released. So maybe they should just calm down and formulate a sane launch plan that releases the new console when it and its games are ready to go. I think we've all seen enough crap get released too early to meet generally artificial deadlines. And heck, doesn't Mr. Gates deserve a little happiness occasionally too?
    • If it's a DRM issue, they may be able to build hardware as planned, even if the software isn't ready yet. Perhaps they're worried that something like what happened with the PSP will happen to the PS3. They'd rather (stupidly) delay the launch than put out something with insecure firmware that they won't be able to force people to upgrade...

      If that's the case, they could ramp manufacturing as they would have for an early Japanese launch, and have enough units to ship in multiple places at once. Pure speculat
    • 1. Will they launch first in Japan or the U.S.?

      2. Will they miss Christmas in the U.S.?

      Hmm. If I were them, I'd have a Wise and Cunning Plan to release after Sony releases the PS3 (which is probably October at the latest), let the bloom die a bit off the rose, and then release in the US on November 1, enough time before Christmas but able to avoid the "oh, yeah, Nintendo announced today as well, but let's just talk about Sony's new PS3".
    • Christmas is also important for a japanese launch since they celebrate a secular version of the holiday.
    • "a couple of things could be noted."

      I still don't see it happening. Sony seems far more Nipponocentric than Nintendo, I don't see them releasing anything in any market before Japan gets theirs.

      If nothing else, both companies like to release in their strongest market first. As popular as Sony hardware may be over here, they're bigger still in Japan.
  • Maybe by the time the PS3 comes out it'll be the next-next-gen Console. They've had an extra year to work on it, so if it's not way better than the xbox360, they failed. They can't come out with a system that's just as good as the 360 when they've had so much more time to work on it. I think the biggest selling point of the ps3 is their exclusive games, such as GTA and Final Fantasy (although FFXI is coming out for xbox360).

    • Re:Better than 360? (Score:2, Insightful)

      by Anonymous Coward
      Extra time might mean more time for bug testing and a stronger launch lineup, but thats about it. The most important parts of the hardware are already finalized. There is already an enormous investment in money behind production facilities to produce the current hardware. A PS3 released in November will perform pretty much the same as a PS3 released in April because its too late in the development cycle for Sony to make changes to the core system.

  • Subversive thought (Score:5, Funny)

    by Gorimek ( 61128 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @06:02PM (#14919600) Homepage
    A lot of people are jumping to conclusions, but what's to say they're not delaying to make the copy protection scheme less intrusive and more practical for end users?

    • Re:Subversive thought (Score:5, Insightful)

      by Z0mb1eman ( 629653 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @06:07PM (#14919639) Homepage
      what's to say they're not delaying to make the copy protection scheme less intrusive and more practical for end users?

      Logic? Past experience?

    • Re:Subversive thought (Score:4, Interesting)

      by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @06:54PM (#14920038) Homepage
      Well, I'm sure the Blu-Ray's ability to revoke keys is a bastard for contract makers. Imagine say someone posted a working Blu-Ray hack a week after the PS3 launches. What do you do? Freeze sales? Recall? Tell people their player is broken before they've played the first disc? HD DVD is more of a "If it breaks, it breaks. You can't undo damage that's already done." The whole premise is futile because there'll always be an "historic" player somewhere to decrypt all movies up to that point, that has never touched any disc with revokation. But they can sure make a mess out of trying.
    • Seriously, these are the people that stuck the most invasive DRM ever on a CD and then basically did everything they could to avoid actually removing it and apologising.

      This is, by the way, noly the latest ina line of shit like this (see the fiasco with HiMD and proprietary formats if you are interested). From Sony I now always expect the worst DRM wise.
    • Yeah and I heard that Hell has just spent up big on ice making machines too :)
    • what's to say they're not delaying to make the copy protection scheme less intrusive and more practical for end users?

      That may be exactly what is happening, given the collapse of support for downsampling HD content for analog output. Microsoft may have been on the right track here all along.

  • When Sony just recently denied any delay, were they lying or just clueless?

  • "Official?" (Score:4, Informative)

    by bi_boy ( 630968 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @06:27PM (#14919822)
    "Sony Computer Entertainment will delay the release of its PlayStation 3 next-generation video game console until early November because the copy-protection technology for the Blu-ray Disc has not been finalized," reported the paper. No specific regions were mentioned, making it unclear if the delay was for the Japanese PS3 or a worldwide release.

    While authoritative in tone, it must be emphasized that the Nihon Keizai Shimbun report is in no way official. Though Sony's last-minute decision to change tomorrow's event from a closed-door presentation to a full-fledged press conference augurs a major announcement, Sony is staying mum. When contacted by GameSpot, a Sony Computer Entertainment America rep declined comment, saying "we have not made any new announcements on PlayStation 3."

    Report: PS3 delayed until November [gamespot.com]

    • Re:"Official?" (Score:2, Informative)

      by Belly ( 153998 )
      The last line in the Nikkei article actually says that Sony will announce on the 15th that the PS3 will be delayed until November.

      Since Sony is supposed to be having a game development conference today (the 15th) in Tokyo which is open to the press, this would indicate that Sony intends to make such an announcement there, but obviously someone leaked it to the Nikkei.
      Could be fake, but then given that they expect the announcement today, it'll be clear soon enough.

  • Yep, a whole year later than the 360.... (Score:5, Interesting)

    by Malor ( 3658 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @06:37PM (#14919911) Journal
    From the rumors that have been floating around, they're trying to make it All Things to All People, which is the surest way to please few of them.

    I've been saying here since early January that we wouldn't see the PS3 officially launched in the States until March of 2007 at the earliest. (and to the AC who called me a 'good liddle fanboy', thpppt!)

    It's now March of 2006. They do not yet have, to my knowledge, working hardware for the video game end of things. They don't have working Blu-Ray drives, and in fact the specs there are changing. (latest news: no degradation on analog HDTV sets, which is good.) They don't seem to have decided on a final feature set. I think a November launch might still be possible, but it's gonna take a lot of overtime by a LOT of people. And they'll have to decide on their final feature set _right now_ and push like hell to make it happen.

    Sony seems to be in defensive mode, beset by rivals. It doesn't feel like they have a unified vision of what the PS3 should be. Rather, at least if you can believe the zeitgeist of the rumor sites, they seem to be in defensive mode, where they claim they'll do everything that all the other consoles do, better. That's not gonna happen. They don't have the time or the manpower to make it happen. If they keep trying, the PS3 is going to be the Duke Nukem Forever of consoles... because the 360 and Revolution will be moving targets. Now that Microsoft has hardware on the ground, new features are just a matter of writing code. If there's one company on the planet who's got expertise in doing that, it's Microsoft.

    At this point, I'm not sure that the PS3 will make November. Whenever it does ship, it will be monumentally expensive, but the wealthy Japanese consumers will buy it in droves anyway; it will be successful in Japan. When they ship it in the US, they're not going to be willing to take the enormous financial hit it would take to sell it at $400; they're going to be priced higher than that, maybe a lot higher.

    Now, this part gets _really_ speculative. They saw the EBay market for the 360 (many 360s sold at $800+), so I bet they're going to try a very expensive US introduction. And, paradoxically, I think it will be completely rejected as 'too expensive' by the American consumer, even though the _exact same people_ would turn around and spend $800 for one on EBay. It's okay, you see, for the Average Joe to be rapacious and greedy, but when corporations do it, it's "wrong". And I'm not sure Sony will get that.

    Even if they're smart and take the financial hit of introducing at $400, I still think they're likely to end up in third place, this time around. The 360 is really solid; it's an excellent machine and they're doing lots of interesting stuff with it. And the Revolution is _really_ interesting; Nintendo is focused on doing stuff that's fun.

    This time around, Microsoft shipped a Mustang. It's big, loud, and powerful. Sony is going to ship a Porsche; quieter, a little faster, more expensive. (if they choose to eat the extra cost, that would make it a great deal for the consumer.) Nintendo is going to ship a Miata. They don't win drag-races, but Miatas are cheap and fun to drive.

    Overall, I suspect Nintendo has a good chance of being the big winner this time around. They'll do well in all markets. I suspect the 360 will place a solid (and profitable) second.. they'll do really well in the US and Europe, but will be lucky to sell 25 consoles in Japan. Sony will do well in Japan, simply from a combination of brand- and country-loyalty, but I now suspect they'll do a huge faceplant in the US and Europe.
    • Nintendo is in a different market than 360 and psx3. With sub $200 price point, i think most people will end just buying one but it won't replace HDTV eye candy that psx3 and 360 market.
    • They don't have working Blu-Ray drives, and in fact the specs there are changing. (latest news: no degradation on analog HDTV sets, which is good

      Actually, my understanding is that the drives will still include the ability to degrade resolution with analog output--Sony is just promising that in the interests of promoting the format they won't set the flag to activate this feature in their own movies [arstechnica.com]...at least, not right away. Once Blu-Ray wins out over HD-DVD, of course, all bets are off.

      The first good reas

      • Re:Downrezzing? (Score:2, Interesting)

        by ucfknight ( 874570 )
        I think the key thing is they aren't going to down-rez for now on the analog outputs, but are definitely leaving things open to do so in the future. Their launch titles are all catalog releases of little value, so it isn't much of a gamble for them to release them without the flag to drop the resolution. I would not be shocked to see them change their tune soon, though, and incorporate the flag on at least their new releases once they start putting them out day-and-date alongside the DVD. Also, you have

  • In other news... (Score:3, Funny)

    by jdubois79 ( 227349 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @06:46PM (#14919975)
    In other news, Microsoft announced today that it was dismayed at the delay in the launch of the PS3. A spokesman was quoted as saying "Come on Sony, get your act together! Gamers are waiting for Halo 3, and we're not going to sit on this thing forever!"

  • New version of copy protection. (Score:3, Funny)

    by JPriest ( 547211 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @07:06PM (#14920143) Homepage
    After they found out they were not allowed to use rootkits for copy protection it was back to the drawing board.

  • Not Delayed (Score:2, Insightful)

    by elchuppa ( 602031 )
    I don't believe the console is really all that far behind schedule. Well at least not from Sony's internal point of view. I've always assumed that this was going to happen. The whole 2006 target was simply a marketing ploy to divert attention from the 360 and encourage customers to wait it out. I believe they did the exact same thing for the ps2 launch, with the same bullshit tech videos etc, for the exact same reason. The sad part is how many people don't see it for what it is... sort of like the liber
  • It's not surprising that Howard Stringer, a guy who came from the media business, is in charge of Sony corporate. Their movement towards the content side dictating the direction of the company has caused the company to suffer - from DRM in their MP3 walkman, to the rootkit, and now to the PS3. It's too bad that such a great technology company that continually innovates is hindered by their more profitable content division. Too bad they don't realize *why* their electronics division is *less* profitable.
  • Copy protection is the same system on HD-DVD and Blu Ray. Both of which are supposed to ship real soon now. Certainly long before november. So this doesn't wash as an excuse for me.

    Then again this seems far from official.
    • I think it is only half the truth. If the price estimates on making the PS3 are at all accurate ($700-$900 in parts alone) then it is going to hurt them a lot to sell the PS3 right now. If they wait a year or so, the price drops and they might be able to release at a reasonable price.

      On the other hand, the price that Microsoft is paying for its console will go down as well. And Microsoft can always come out with a "XBox360-Media" edition of the console that includes HD-DVD, DVR, and a big old hard drive f

  • Here I am reading a pack of responses blasting the evil SONY and praising Microsofts 360?
    *dons robs and raises sign* THE END IS NEAR, REPENT!

  • What difference does it make? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by rice_burners_suck ( 243660 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @07:39PM (#14920421)
    Why should it matter if the PS3 is delayed? How long ago did you purchase your PS2? It probably still works as well as it did on the day you first got it. You don't honestly want to throw a perfectly good machine into the landfill, do you?

    Heck, even if you're sick of the same old game box, you can always run Linux on the darn thing and use it for other purposes. The way I see it, these game system makers are just taking advantage of the fact that people always want to have the newest box.

    • It probably still works as well as it did on the day you first got it.

      You must have bought yours from the Sony in the advertising hype. Mine comes from the Sony that makes disc drives out of bits of recycled wet cereal packets held together by blutack. Shake rattle and roll! I don't know how much longer my box will last alas.

  • I so hope this isn't the big announcement that was expected for tomorrow... or is it already tomorrow in Japan?

    I wonder what these delays related to the copy-protection mean? Are they trying to make it sneakier by any chance? Kinda fitting that DRM would bite them in the rear for a second time in under 6 months...

  • Japan and the PS3 (Score:4, Insightful)

    by fred09 ( 961236 ) on Tuesday March 14, 2006 @09:25PM (#14921034)
    As a resident in Japan, I can tell you that reaction to this delay will be subdued and probably non-existent. In fact, I argue that sony picked the best time to announce this - one day before the relase of arguably the biggest game on the Japanese calendar - Final Fantasy XII. People here dont seem to care about the graphics or new specs as much - hence why the Xbox 360 has done so utterly poorly after its release here. Some slashdotters write about not being able to find an Xbox 360, I could walk into almost any electronics store in Tokyo and find one neglected on a back shelf. The Japanese will contently wait for the PS3, just like they have waited for Final Fantasy XII. Its not all about graphics to them, and they have enough games like FFX12 coming out on the PS2 to tide them over until November.

  • Blu-ray stand-alone players is the real reason... (Score:2, Interesting)

    by Anonymous Coward
    Sony simply cannot release a $400 PS3 that plays Blu-ray discs when stand-alone players debut in May @ $800.
    There has been much speculation regarding how Sony would handle this problem. Either make Blu-ray movie playing an extra charge or delay the PS3 so that the stand-alone players have time to sell to early adopters. Looks like the latter has been chosen.

    Evidence: Stand-alone players debut in May with the very same DRM that Sony says will delay the ps3 until November.

    Motive: Sony needs support from partn

  • Editor Exagerating ? (Score:4, Insightful)

    by aepervius ( 535155 ) on Wednesday March 15, 2006 @02:47AM (#14922321)
    Quote : "that creates a worrisome scenario for America and Europe.".

    No. Worrisome is when you have an unexpected tissue growth under your skin. Worrisome is when your state/country begins to write law about censorship and reducing free speech like they print bank notes. Worrisome is when your neighbour country (or nearly) starts showing the finger to everybody and go on a cruisade to develop nuclear weapon. That is the definition of worrisome. The PS3 delaying for USA and EU by a few months is at best annoying or even disappointing, but if it make you build up worry you really need a better life.

  • It's official (Score:3, Informative)

    by Belly ( 153998 ) on Wednesday March 15, 2006 @05:02AM (#14922678)
    Announcement on Playstation.jp - http://www.playstation.jp/news/2006/pr_060315_ps3. html [playstation.jp] And some pics from the news conference on Famitsu - http://www.famitsu.com/game/news/2006/03/15/103,11 42401068,50042,0,0.html [famitsu.com] They're going to do a worldwide simultaneous launch in November...

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