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During a press conference in Tokyo, Ken Kutaragi, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, officially announced the delay of the PlayStation 3 until November

During a press conference in Japan, it has been confirmed that the game console will make a simultaneous debut in Asia, Europe and North America.  As gamers around the world anxiously await for the release of the Sony PlayStation 3, rumors and speculation have been swirling around the past several weeks about the console.  Sony has not been very vocal about plans for the PlayStation 3, which has led to further speculation on the release date of the console.

The official launch delay claims that the finalization of the copy protection for Blu-ray Disc -- an integral part of the PS3 platform -- has been sluggish.  Specifically, Advanced Access Content System (AACS), the copy protection system for both Blu-ray Disc and HD-DVD, was delayed.  Being able to play Blu-ray DVDs is one of the most anticipated features of the upcoming PlayStation 3.   

The delay will give Sony time to add HDMI support to its new console along with a host of other features to give it a leg up on the competition. The console will ship with a 60GB HDD with Linux preinstalled and will have backwards compatibility with PS1 and PS2 titles.

Although Sony currently owns most of the game console market, it is continuing to lose valuable market share to Microsoft.  The PlayStation 3 will also have to battle head-to-head with Nintendo's next-generation console, the Nintendo Revolution.  Because Sony won't be able to get the PlayStation 3 game console onto the market, both Microsoft and Nintendo will reap the benefits of higher holiday sales. 

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Doh!
By aguilpa1 on 3/15/2006 8:51:44 AM , Rating: 2
this blu ray - HD thing is causing all kinds of problems...., my LCD TV is only 720 anyhow so I don't really care, good ole DVD's work great




RE: Doh!
By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 10:16:13 AM , Rating: 2
DVDS are 480p resolution, so if you have a 720p TV, you're only using 37% of its resolution by watching a DVD.


RE: Doh!
By aguilpa1 on 3/15/2006 10:56:15 AM , Rating: 2
hmmmmm, how come they look so good then?...which raises the question why do we need Blu-ray or HD Dvd in the first place?


RE: Doh!
By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 11:18:35 AM , Rating: 2
> "hmmmmm, how come they look so good then?..."

Probably because you're viewing them for the first time in 480p, as opposed to the 480i a standard TV will display.

> "which raises the question why do we need Blu-ray or HD Dvd in the first place?"

If you've ever seen a good-quality 720p (or, heaven forbid, 1080p) signal, you wouldn't ask this question.


RE: Doh!
By Kilim on 3/15/2006 5:18:55 PM , Rating: 2
Why would someone trust the PS3 to use as a video device? Doesn't anyone remember the busted PS2's with the DVD drives, especially the ones at launch? See no reason for it to not happen again. DO NOT USE THE PS3 AS YOUR VIDEO DEVICE!!!

Oh God, and I work at a Gamestop, we get so many people with DRE (Disc Read Error) PS2's to trade in for a new one. We ask them to not use the PS2 as your primary video device, which they did previously as it will cut the life of the PS2.


RE: Doh!
By RobFDB on 3/15/2006 11:55:43 AM , Rating: 2
Of course you could buy a nice up scaling DVD player to make the DVDs look even better.


RE: Doh!
By albundee on 3/15/2006 3:20:32 PM , Rating: 2
upconverters have lag/delay.


RE: Doh!
By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 3:23:22 PM , Rating: 2
Upconverters also don't create detail. A native 720p signal is far superior to one merely upconverted to 720p.


Market Share numbers?
By Lord Zado on 3/15/2006 8:53:55 AM , Rating: 2
This delay has to really hurt Sony. What are the market share numbers these days? One would think that with Microsoft having the only next gen console out, they would be cleaning up. Granted Xbox360 has some hardware stability issues, but surely Microsoft has gained a good deal of marketshare so far.




RE: Market Share numbers?
By RandomFool on 3/15/2006 9:12:25 AM , Rating: 2
they've got 100% of the next gen market :) Thier market share is probably up but once the PS3 and Revolution come out it'll go down again probably not all that way but I don't see them taking the crown from sony anytime soon.


RE: Market Share numbers?
By RobFDB on 3/15/2006 9:20:41 AM , Rating: 2
I think MS would be doing a hell of a lot better if they had the stock to sell. Amazon.co.uk still doesn't have any premium packs, nor does play.com. Game might have some, but their site isn't terribly clear. So they can't really gain market share.

Thing is, most of the people I know that own a PS2 don't give a crap about the 360. They don't care about Xbox live, or wireless controllers, or anything the 360 brings to the table. They're casual gamers, who like playing Pro Evo or GT or GTA. The real gamers will have already bought, or will buy a 360 sometime this year. But I would wager that the majority of PS2 owners won't really care about the 360.

The other big point is that the PS3 is going to sell like crazy in Japan. They'll go completely mental over the PS3 and Sony won't be able to make the consoles fast enough.

At the end of the day the possibility is there for MS to damage Sony and steal a big chunk of market share, but the question is, can they pull it off?


RE: Market Share numbers?
By kalaap on 3/15/2006 9:21:27 AM , Rating: 2
MS marketshare hasn't really gone up that much only because they've had supply problems. Also the good games for the console are now being released. By the time PS3 comes out, MS might actually have a good lineup of games.


RE: Market Share numbers?
By Plasmoid on 3/15/2006 11:35:07 AM , Rating: 2
The Gamecube is outselling the Xbox360 and xbox combined sales in japan.... that says something.

The fact is the xbox market has collapsed and the xbox360 is still slow in supply. I dont see how you ca make out Microsoft has made and substantial market share increases. They have a lead, an entire year, but so far they havent capitalised on it.


RE: Market Share numbers?
By ogreslayer on 3/15/2006 1:04:36 PM , Rating: 2
That says nothing the Japanese market is overhyped the margin is the less than US; 360 sales are poor only due to a lack of games in their interest bracket.

Not having Japan didn't kill MS last time and it won't this time either especially since a very large part of the Asiam game development community has decided to produce on both systems.

Nintendo is engrained in the Japanese psyche, proof in point is how well the DS and now the DS Lite do compared to PSP and hell other consoles (4million DS in 2005 twice as much as PSP and more than every other system). The Japanese market is proven to not be an indication of the global console gaming trends if it was Halo and Xbox would have died, Nintendo would be at least number 2. There is an obvious disdain toward American gaming porducts in the Asian and specifically Japanese market. Any comparison to another company is not fair even to Sony the nostalgia skews the whole picture. The highest selling games in that country for last year were all on the DS while the highest number in the US were PS2. Sports and Shooters do better here while RPGs and Platformers do much better there

If MS, a company with larger capital, is having trouble with supplying the 360 what do you think is gonna be Sony's problem with the PS3, a much more costly system, on a global launch. Also MS has had a less than 5 month lead on PS3 and the platform is much better than I personally thought it would be. That said they will not overtake Sony or probably Nintendo (The Nostalgia pops up again with the downloads of old titles) in ASIA. But the real battle ground is North America and a whole year lead is a vey nice thing when you have a better infrastructure, will be poised for a price cut and can offer the same quality games in visuals and mechanincs (at least 2nd gen 360games versus 1st gen PS3)


RE: Market Share numbers?
By CBone on 3/15/2006 1:10:27 PM , Rating: 2
QFT


RE: Market Share numbers?
By Lakku on 3/17/2006 5:38:06 AM , Rating: 2
The only thing I really have to say about that is that RPGs are as popular or more here, givent he massive amount of subscriptions to MMORPGs and the amount of other quality RPGs on the market. The other thing is, anything on the PS just about that is called an RPG is in fact an action adventure game with some character trait modification elements. It's just a pet peeve to call Final Fantasy an RPG when it's not really close, and to point out that real RPGs are Neverwinter Nights, old Ultimas, and the Elder Scroll games.


Blu-Ray, Shmoo-Ray SFW?
By CBone on 3/15/2006 10:32:07 AM , Rating: 2
"Being able to play Blu-ray DVDs is one of the most anticipated features of the upcoming PlayStation 3."

Anticipated by who? I don't know about "anticipated". That implies a desire for it. The average PS3 buyer doesn't know or care about Blu-Ray, just like they don't know or care about HD-DVD. That kid just wants Tony Hawk and the new Madden, and just got rid of his RF adapter. The only people whacking over Blu-Ray are press people, Sony, and that dude that spent a bozillion dollars on his HD TV w/HDMI and wants content.




RE: Blu-Ray, Shmoo-Ray SFW?
By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 11:35:06 AM , Rating: 2
> "The average PS3 buyer doesn't know or care about Blu-Ray"

I strongly dispute this. Anyone following the PS3 now, months before its even released, knows exactly what Blu Ray is. Talk to anyone today who anticipates buying one, and odds are they'll tell you the integrated Blu Ray drive is one of its strongest points.

Now, the average person walking in to buy one ten months from now may not know...but since he wasn't anticipating ANY feature for the PS3, he doesn't count regardless.

> "that dude that spent a bozillion dollars on his HD TV w/HDMI "

HDTVs with HDMI are hardly a "bozillion" dollars. In fact, its getting increasingly hard to buy a new TV that doesn't offer this.




RE: Blu-Ray, Shmoo-Ray SFW?
By CBone on 3/15/2006 1:08:47 PM , Rating: 2
"...odds are they'll tell you the integrated Blu Ray drive is one of its strongest points."
I'll take that bet. All the hype for Blu-Ray has been totally manufactured. I'll bet you that on the off-chance you find someone who knows what it is can only say that the PS3 will have it and it is better than whatever is out now. Can they tell you anything beyond that? Maybe why it's so much better than HD-DVD? Or DVD, for that matter? Doubt it.

"In fact, its getting increasingly hard to buy a new TV that doesn't offer this."
Where are you shopping? The vast majority of tvs for sale and an even more vast majority of tvs being used for games don't offer it. I seriously doubt that the PS3 will be attached to more HD or ED tvs than regular tvs. I'm predicting another great year of sales for adapter makers.


RE: Blu-Ray, Shmoo-Ray SFW?
By neba on 3/15/2006 2:19:05 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
Can they tell you anything beyond that? Maybe why it's so much better than HD-DVD?


There are over 100 million PS2s out there. Sure some of them are hardcore gamers like me that own every system. But for the most part, as someone stated before, many are aware of what Blue-ray has over HD-DVD- namely, more storage. I'll just leave it at that.

The PS3 also has 100% playback of any PS2 or PS1 games, which is a big plus considering Sony have led software sales for many years now.

Besides some shortages here and there (finding a 360 in nyc is tough...:( ), I'll have to say the 360 is doing quite well post-launch. The new Clancy game can almost be called "nextgen." I won't agree w/ IGN or Gamespot that it is one. Based on these 2 factors:

1. The team A.I. is weak.
2. Mexico City is a ghost town during the whole game.

Apart from better graphics, sound, and seemless vehicle gameply integration (BF2 has already done that), it's darn close but not there. Throw in some smarter A.I. teammates(FEAR) and a more realistic environment w/ condition sensitive npcs, that would be a next-gen title. It's a complete package, & that's what it's all about now. All in all, it's the best & the most importnat 360 title out there so far.

I really can't wait if Oblivion's the first to cross the threshold. I'll know in a few days...


RE: Blu-Ray, Shmoo-Ray SFW?
By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 2:50:22 PM , Rating: 2
> "Can they tell you anything beyond that? Maybe why it's so much better than HD-DVD? Or DVD, for that matter? Doubt it."

Find ONE person who both a) knows what Blu Ray is, and b) doesn't know that its higher resolution than DVD, and you win a cookie.

We'll wait why you look-- go ahead.

As for whether or not Blu Ray is "better" than HD-DVD, that is wholly beside the point. If the PS3 had an HD-DVD player instead, then it would be a highly anticipated as well. Its not "Blu Ray" per se that so many are anticipating, as much as a cheap console with a hi-def player included.

I know quite a few people whose 'first' DVD player was the PS2. Many of them bought it solely, or at least partially for that very reason. Not because of its strength as a gaming console. Similarly, the PS3 will be the first High-def disc player for millions of people.



What if..
By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 6:03:21 PM , Rating: 2
I'm struck by the possibility that Sony will use this delay to convert the PS3 player to dual (Blu-Ray/HD-DVD) format capability. With Atmel's new chipset, this would add hardly any cost to the unit...and faced with eroding support for Blu-Ray, this may be a step Sony is forced to take.




RE: What if..
By gamara on 3/15/2006 8:48:07 PM , Rating: 2
Sony's investment in BluRay is why this will not happen. I am just waiting for this to be their nex BetaMax, or MD. Sony's history with pushing standards is much less than stellar. It would be great if they included HD-DVD support, but they will be the good Japanese warrior and fall on their BluRay sword again.


RE: What if..
By masher2 (blog) on 3/16/2006 10:21:25 AM , Rating: 2
Most of that investment was spent long before Stringer took over, however. He's making a lot of waves, and vowing the company will learn from past mistakes. Besides, Sony's Blu Ray investment pales beside their PS3 and motion picture assets.

A dual-format player in the PS3 is an cheap way for Sony to hedge their Blu Ray bet. I'm not saying it will happen...but I wouldn't discount the possibility. A PS3 with Blu Ray AND HD-DVD-- compared to an XBox 360 with neither-- would be a strong seller.


RE: What if..
By Zoomer on 3/17/2006 3:22:15 AM , Rating: 2
Yes, like the CD-ROM, and DVD-ROM.

They are complete failures.


PS3 just waiting till it turns to vaporware
By kelkins on 3/15/2006 1:43:05 PM , Rating: 2
I hate to say this, but I said it last year that the PS3 was 2 yrs away and it isn't getting any better. Sony can't get anyone to agree to a standard and Blue-ray and Hd-dvd are just DRM drones no real performance gains. HDMI is also another DRM drone the picture isnt any better but now they can control both sides of the device. Carmack has already said the PS3 is about twice as powerful as the original Xbox or in his words it was a poor choice of processors. I wonder if it will ever see the light of day without major revisions. Or manufactured by another company as Sony can't lose 500/ machine. And if you want better picture quality use Divx faster smaller and better no DRM overhead.




By neba on 3/15/2006 2:47:31 PM , Rating: 2
Heh; you don't have to be sorry. And although I agree w/ you that the format wars aren't doing any gamer (or consumer) good- it is a battle worth fighting for if you were aligned w/ HD-DVD or Blue-Ray. There ARE performance gains but upgrades are costly and yes, like you say, it's another kind of control. If you want better pic. quality and features, then that's the trade off. It's as simple as that.

Carmack won't know squat until he has a PS3 in his house so feel free to believe him. It's like the PS3/Revolution controller- how can you say this or that when you've (the Press included) not yet tried it?

Stories of vaporware in ref. to the PS3 is silly. It's like saying the big N will ousted in the Videogame market...


By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 2:56:01 PM , Rating: 2
> " Carmack has already said the PS3 is about twice as powerful as the original Xbox"

Its amazing how many people believe a game developer is god incarnate.

For some tasks, Cell is going to be more like 100 times faster than the original XBox. For others it may even be slightly slower. However-- and this is a crucial point-- Cell is optimized for media and vector processing...the tasks that take up the bulk of processing on a console today.

I've had the Cell BDE SDK for a few months now. Its truly a revolutionary chip, and I expect it to see widespread use outside the PS3.


Picture of Bill?
By TomZ on 3/15/2006 10:55:11 AM , Rating: 2
What happened to the picture of Bill Gates "thanking God" for the delay? I thought that was pretty funny.




RE: Picture of Bill?
By NFS4 on 3/15/2006 11:33:56 AM , Rating: 2
LOL
By kattanna on 3/15/2006 10:58:02 AM , Rating: 2
>The delay will give Sony time to add HDMI support

well..thats nice isnt it?

since it will have the blue ray drive which will require it to play the HD content





RE: LOL
By masher2 (blog) on 3/15/2006 11:37:13 AM , Rating: 2
> "since it will have the blue ray drive which will require it to play the HD content "

No longer true...since several studios recently announced that, at least initially, they won'y be setting the ICT flag on any of their HD content.


NextGEN Console Wars
By jackmaddy on 3/15/2006 11:15:55 AM , Rating: 2
Sounds like Sony is going to repeat MS mistakes with shortages etc. I think this is really bad for Sony as MS will surely have their supply issues resolved by November. As for Blu-Ray, there will only be 10 or so HD movies available so I don't think I can justify $500 for that. I'v seen no in-game previews except for MetalGear and thats pretty lame. I have the following consoles. Xbox, PS2, GameCube and Xbox 360. I actually won the 360 and would have spent the $400 on it. And I can honeslty say PS2 is a lot of hype..nothing compared to Xbox 1. There where some comments about people suggesting the good games are coming out now for 360. If you look on xbox.ign you will see that most games are rated 8 to 9 on average..thats pretty damn good. Let's give MS some credit here..they beat PS3 by 1 year with a console that is comparable to PS3 and easier to develop for! I don't think I will purchase a PS3 for blu-ray..it would have to be for the games..and so far..nothing is impressing me yet. If MS can make enough consoles and have them on shelves for Xmas, then I think Sony is in trouble. I am not an MS Fanboy, just appreciate the Xbox 360 for what it is, great hardware. I play it on a 57 inch DLP and its amazing to see and hear. Games are great and I look forward to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion this month!




RE: NextGEN Console Wars
By kattanna on 3/15/2006 11:22:50 AM , Rating: 2
>and I look forward to The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion this month!

AYE...and you mean NEXT WEEK !! WOOHOO !!!



Linux
By othercents on 3/15/2006 12:04:16 PM , Rating: 2
Actually there are some key things on the PS3 that has me wanting one of those instead of the Xbox360. The basic features like Blue-Ray and HDMI doesn't matter to me much at this point, but having Linux and the ability to have full internet access is great. I just wonder if you will be able to install other Linux games onto the console. This will definitely give a reason for game developers to develop Linux versions.

I currently have my laptop plugged into my LCD TV with wireless keyboard. If I could add a PS3 and remove my laptop from the TV and still get the same functionality then this would be a better option that the xbox360. I know I can build a computer for around the $500 price, but the ability to play the console games is definitely a plus.

Blue-Ray and HDMI will be icing on the cake since I don't even have a DVD player other than the one in my laptop. I really hope I can still download movies through Movielink or Vongo with Linux PS3.

Other




RE: Linux
By jackmaddy on 3/15/2006 8:11:57 PM , Rating: 2
Where have you read that Linux will have a WebBrowser??? This is the first I have heard of the ability to surf the web on a PS3?


eww come on now
By yacoub on 3/15/2006 1:51:26 PM , Rating: 2
quote:
The official launch delay is caused because the finalization of the copy protection for Blu-ray Disc has been sluggish.


try:

The official launch delay is caused by the sluggish finalization of the copy protection for Blu-ray Disc.




RE: eww come on now
By KristopherKubicki (blog) on 3/15/2006 6:20:29 PM , Rating: 2
Fixed.


Who didn't see this coming?
By CBone on 3/15/2006 10:15:58 AM , Rating: 2
Wasn't there an announcement from one of the manufacturers that they weren't starting mass production until Christmas anyway?




It's not just BRD
By nowayout99 on 3/15/2006 12:50:55 PM , Rating: 2
Sony said themselves that developers don't even have final dev kits yet. There's no way Spring was even possible, BRD or not.

So while BRD is the official scapegoat, it's more than just that. If they launched in the Spring, there would be no more than a handful of games for 6 months anyway.




Waiting Game
By slider169 on 3/15/2006 2:28:38 PM , Rating: 2
I'll skip this. I'll wait for the PS4 or Xbox720 :P




GeForce 8800
By AggressorPrime on 3/15/2006 3:03:00 PM , Rating: 2
They might as well use the G80 instead of the G71 then.




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