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February 27, 2006
Japanese site Sankei Web is reporting that Sony has acknowledged the possibility of a delay in the system, and that such a delay would be due to problems with the mass production of the console's built-in Blu-ray drive.
Read More at Gamespot
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February 21, 2006
Sony has issued a statement to set shareholders at ease, after a their share price dropped 3.6 percent. the dropped for a second time. The initial drop followed a report by Merrill Lynch & Co. report that claimed the PlayStation 3 video game console may be delayed. the report also claimed that the PS3 will cost $900 per-console to manufacture. Sony denied the delay report, but left the $900 tag open for speculation.
The fall affected the entire Tokyo stock market, with the Nikkei index dropping 1.75 percent to 15,437.93 yen ($130.57).
It predicted the launch of the PlayStation 3 console could be delayed by 6 to 12 months from its current spring 2006 window, resulting in an autumn launch in Japan and a late 2006 or early 2007 launch in the US reports Gamespot
"We wrote last November that Sony’s design choices for the PS3 had resulted in an expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product," read the report, "and we think that we’re seeing the consequences of those choices play out now. In particular, we think the problem points are the Sony Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive." Merrill Lynch also cited heat-generation issues with PS3 hardware and the far-from-finished state of most games for the platform as factors.
"We're aiming for spring, but we haven't announced specific regions," a Sony Computer Entertainment America spokeswoman told USAtoday. "We're waiting for [final PS3 specifications] until the last possible minute, but the launch could be pushed back if they're not decided soon."
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February 20, 2006
In an interview posted on Japanese site Watch Impress, Tetsuhiko Yatsuda of Sony Computer Entrainment Asia, reveals that PS3 games may be available for download through Sony's Playstation Hub online service.
The logic is that t it would actually be cheaper to "download" the games instead of buying it directly from a retailer, in addition the service allows more control to combat the widespread pirating of Playstation games in certain regions of Asia.
via
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Sony Computer Entertainment, has slammed a Merrill Lynch & Co. report that claimed the PlayStation 3 video game console may be delayed.
Kei Sakaguchi, a Sony spokesman in Tokyo says : "There is no change in our original plan to release the console in spring 2006''. Joe Osha from Merrill Lynch said that Sony may start selling the Playstation 3 in Japan in autumn by late 2006 and early 2007 in the U.S.
"Given the increasing competition from Microsoft and Nintendo, Sony can't afford any delays that may help its rivals get ahead,'' said Taiji Yoshida, who helps oversee $6.7 billion at Yasuda Asset Management Co. in Tokyo.
via Bloomberg
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February 18, 2006
According to Merrill Lynch, Sony's upcoming PlayStation 3 is going to cost them $900 per unit at launch. Lynch calls it an "expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product" because of the Cell processor and Blu-ray drive, which account for the large costs reports Engadget. By Comparison the Xbox 360 reportedly cost around $500 to make.
PlayStation 3 costs $900 says PDF
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In addition to touting plans to ship over 100 million PlayStation 3 (PS3) game consoles, Tetsuhiko Yasuda, Sony Computer Entertainment Asia’s corporate executive managing director and senior vice president of Asia said Sony may work with Microsoft in the future.
Sony has not finalized the specific time frame for the PS3 launch, as well as pricing, he said. The company aims to launch the PS3 at the same time throughout Asia. However, not all the regions in the global market will see the same launch day, as the Internet infrastructures differ in each individual market, Yasuda said.
Sony does not regard Xbox as a competitor. Rather, the company may even consider working with Microsoft to develop games together, Yasuda noted.
via digitimes
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Sony will definitely launch its new PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console this year, though the company is still undecided on a launch date nor pricing for the console, said Tetsuhiko Yasuda, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Asia, on February 16 at the Taipei Game Show.
Yasuda, says the earlier launch of Microsoft’s Xbox 360 did not add pressure on Sony, Yasuda said that the company wants to be completely prepared when it begins marketing the PS3.
Accumulated global shipments for the PS3 are expected to exceed 100 million units, a record that was set by Sony’s earlier games consoles, the PS and PS2, despite the fact that the PS3 will be priced higher than the PS2, Yasuda said.
To the disappointment of attendees at the show, Sony only displayed three mock-up versions of the PS3 and demonstrated some functions of the new console through a video. This raised doubts if Sony can really bring the PS3 to the market in the spring of this year as expected, according to market sources.
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February 16, 2006
According to Next Generation, Sony is planning to launch an online games service, largely modelled on Xbox Live, currently called PlayStation HUB. T he service is also designed to support PSP online play as well as PS3.
PlayStation HUB is being described to developers as a 'subscriber service' suggesting a monthly charge.
In other news, .Sony is aiming for a September launch for PlayStation 3 in Japan and North America.
Read More on PlayStation HUB
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In a survey Sony launched at Playstation Underground , the company ask for user feedback on HDTV use and importance. According to kotaku the questions are telling, but most importantly, they seem to verify that the Playstation 3 will indeed have a BlueRay DVD player built into it and that the games will support 1080p.
View Survey
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February 11, 2006
Business Week has this interesting article on the PlayStation 3 and all the functions Sony is reportedly trying to cram into the machine. Deutsche Securities analyst Takashi Oya says Sony's message might get muddled in the process of going after too broad a market. "It would be difficult to sell PS3 initially as anything other than a game machine," Oya says. Sony declined to comment on such concerns.
Fact is , most people that go out and buy the PlayStation 3 will be making the purchase for game playing, even if Sony touts all extra features til the cows come home, it will fall on deaf ears... extra functions are cool to have but most gamers would already have setups for that multimedia living room.
Sony is banking on the console to lift its consumer-electronics division out of trouble writes BW, and the Blu-ray drive is expected to give a boost to that Sony-backed format, one of two competing to become the next-generation standard for videos. "PS3 is very important for us," says Sony Chief Financial Officer Nobuyuki Oneda. "There are so many key devices from the electronics group that will go into it."
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