Thursday, Sony said it remained on track to roll out its PlayStation 3 game console by spring 2006 despite industry speculation that the scheduled launch could face delays.

A spokesman for Sony said it was still targeting a spring 2006 launch for the PS3, which is key to maintaining its lead in the game console market against Microsoft, which recently launched its competing Xbox 360 console.

Larry Probst, chief executive of the No. 1 video game publisher Electronic Arts, said last week that he believed Sony's console would not be available until fall 2006 reports Reuters