PS3 to stir up next-gen arena in November
After months of speculation on delays upon delays the word now seems to be out: IGN reports that Sony PlayStation chief Ken Kutaragi has announced in a press conference today that the PS3 will have a simultaneous worldwide launch in November this year. Hmmm sounds familiar… they go on to say “Once released, Sony will unleash one million units per month with a total of six million units in 2006 alone.”. Sounds quite improbable that you can sell 6 million units in 2 months at a rate of 1 million units per month but okay the article is still under construction. They probably mean to say they want the missing 4 million units sitting in warehouses for the launch.
So do you all think Sony will be able to pull of a worldwide simultaneous launch of a games console better than Microsoft? I personally say “no chance in hell”, but feel free to ventilate your opinions below. Considering the main reason for the delay appears to be Blu-Ray problems and not other hardware, the delay could actually allow them to stockpile supplies for over 6 months and then do a mass firmware flash of millions of units before they ship. Who knows?
Just to remind you that you’re still on an Xbox site, have a look at some of the first in-game screenshots out for the PS3, in this case Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom. Admittedly I’m very impressed…. Okay, I’ll be honest, I’m not, it looks crap compared to current-gen games like BLACK, and shameful crap compared to GRAW. But at least Killzone 2 has proven the PS3 will be more than capable of showing prerendered CG movies.
There are 3 types of people in the world: Those who can count, and those who can’t!
60gb hard drive ain’t too bad, lets hope there are some good launch tiltles
Eric ; like Fantavision?
I don’t think that Sony will be ready for the worldwide launch..If they made the decision NOW then there is no way in hell they will be ready for November.. Microsoft was planning it way longer and there were a lot of troubles there.. you will say that Sony has leraned a few things from microsoft’s failure..But still i don’t think they’ll make it in time.. IF this was the original plan all along then Sony is really smart and has gained a few points to their system. Generally it’s good news to the videogaming industry and even to xbox fans..Do you think Uncle Bill will let this pass without releasing himself some great GAME/ADD-ON/PERIPHERAL? Seriously doubtfull. Huray for all the sillyfanboys dissing Microsoft for the worldwide launch and now hyping Sony’s worldwide’s launch!
I’ll be interested to see how they manage to rustle up a stable online system like Live in six months, and where they manage to rustle up 6 million blu-ray drives from when the first drive isn’t due on the market for months
The Live copycat service has been in development since 2003 or so, so I’ll buy that they’ll have that at least done to an acceptable level. The 6 million bluray’s…. ya I have less faith in that.
And see those screenshots hahahahaaaaa
Even the Nintendo can do better hahaha
Does anyone know how this crappy game is called? If all graphics on the PS3 look like this it’s just about the same quality as the PS2 which is crap
So all in 1080p guys?
From
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[quote]Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi finally gave some official details about the PS3 at the PlayStation Business Briefing 2006 in Japan.
He confirmed that the PlayStation3 is delayed because the copy protection isn’t ready with Blu-ray, but we’ll get a worldwide launch in North America, Asia and Europe early (within first 10 days of) November 2006.
They will produce the PS3 at a rate of 1 million units per month and should have 6 million units released by march 2007.
The final PS3 development kits will be shipping to developers in June 2006.
To prevent piracy all PS3 games will come out on Blu-Ray discs only, not on CD/DVD. The console will of course be able to read PS1 CDs, PS2 DVDs and DVD movies.
Sony also announced that the PlayStation 3 will be 100% backwards compatible with PS1 and PS2 games, and all titles played on the system will be displayed at high-definition resolutions.
The PS3 will ship with a, completely upgradeable, 60GB hard drive right out of the box. Publishers have been told to develop titles with the assumption that the console will have a HD. Kutaragi also said the HD will support Linux OS and will act as a home server where users can store their media on.
The PS3 will include a built-in Wi-Fi connection that can serve as a wireless access point for the PSP.
Sony also unveiled some details of their online plans (’PlayStation Network Platform’). At launch the console will get community tools (lobby matching and voice chat) and commerce features (like in-game shopping and game downloads to the hard drive). The “basic” service will be free of charge.
No new software announcements or pricing details were made, maybe something for the GDC next week?[/quote]
So the story regarding the production is a little bit different than stated on IGN.
100% backwards compatibility? If only us Xboxers were so lucky…
Worryingly, it sounds like Sony know what they’re doing…
“Does anyone know how this crappy game is called?”
In the topright of the page you see a link to the whole thread, which is called Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom [PS3] Screens. As Sony had the screenshots removed under threat of legal action from several established sites, they’re authentic.
“100% backwards compatibility? If only us Xboxers were so lucky…”
Don’t celebrate too soon. MS never promised 100% backwards compatibility, they were realistic. Sony did promise Toy Story quality graphics on the PS2. And that’s just the best-known example: Sony isn’t exactly known for living up to its hype and promises. Did you know the slimline PS2 is not even “backwards compatible” with all PS2 games? Indeed, there are PS2 games out there which can not be played on every PS2 game.
Also, the emulation is a lot easier ofcourse considering the PS2 is much less powerful than the original Xbox, and the PS3 and 360 are comparable. Hence there’s a lot more headroom in the PS3 to emulate. Having said that, Sony has always owned all PS2 chip IP unlike Microsoft, and could theoretically by now include a full PS2 as a system-on-a-chip in the PS3, thus eliminating the whole need for emulation.
I’ll get me pre-order in now then.
“I’ll get me pre-order in now then. ”
TRAITOR!
I’ll probably end up buying it anyway, just like this generation consoles.. But for the moment I’m really happy with my 360, it just gave me back the fun in gaming for some reason.. (be it the achievement points or the great live implementation) A worldwide launch is very ambitous, but it’s still Sony we’re talking about here so my bet would be a November Japan release, december USA release and a spring Europe release. Based on releases in the past.. Cough-ps2-Cough-psp-Cough
REAL PS3 4D Glasses
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eB...wItem&item=8268473741
If I can come up with the money, I would like to own the Revolution and the PS3 as well as the 360.
Those graphics look good but not omgfightnightoblivionghostrecon good. Besides, to be fair, I’ve heard Ghost Recon didn’t look all that appetizing back in 2005.
Though, with a November launch, it’s entirely possible Billy could make good on his promise of “SWEET HALO DEATH FOR SONY!!!!!!!”
FROM: NEXT-GEN.BIZ
Great Read !!
Sony has at last admitted that the PlayStation 3 will be delayed until November. Although entirely expected, this is still bad news for publishers and retailers. Next Generation’s editor-in-chief Colin Campbell (pictured) reports…
Delays, after all, are rarely cause for celebration. Put simply, this means fewer consumers to sell to, and longer to wait until they arrive.
Although publishers have long expected a delay, and will have adjusted their business plans accordingly, it doesn’t mean this is somehow good news. Not only that, but we are still working with promises and loosely defined targets. No publisher is going to bank on everything happening just as Sony predicts, especially in the light of this long-overdue announcement, and the phenomenal complexity of PS3’s launch.
If Ken Kutaragi thought this was great news, he didn’t seem to show it, apologizing for the delay earlier today. He said, “When we initially announced our plans to launch this spring, we had expected the standardization work on all of the technologies to be completed by last August, but there were improvements that were decided on since then.”
He added, “We wanted to be sure to include all future technologies that are available now.”
Analysts aren’t exactly jumping for joy. Hiroshi Kamide at KBC said, “There’s nothing [for publishers] in the first half of the year, and the installed base in the second half will be so small it will have no material impact for earnings at all. This is going to be a horrendous year.”
Timing is everything
We now know the timing of the machine, but key questions remain unanswered. As yet we have not been told of a price for PlayStation 3. It is probable that the machine will be the most expensive on the market, coming with a subsidised online gaming service as well as a Blu-ray drive.
In the short outlook this is fine for Sony in terms of hardware sales. The machine will be highly anticipated, a great product in huge demand. Howard Stringer will be pleased. But it will be some time before it represents a genuinely viable market for third party publishers.
As with the launch of PlayStation 2, there is also the question of who is buying the machine to play games, and who to enjoy the disk drive. It is fair to assume that PS3’s tie-ration will struggle to match Xbox 360’s at launch.
Bad news
Publishers have been prepared for the bad news. They’ve known about it for months. They’ll probably be relieved that the machine is being launched in the U.S this side of Thanksgiving. But this will be scant consolation for a launch that was supposed to happen “in the spring”.
Sony says it will have a million units at launch and a million-a-month during the launch phase. “This may not seem like much, but it’s more than the initial capacity for PlayStation 2,” said Kutaragi, seeking some glimmer of gloss.
These numbers have largely been welcomed by the media. But those machines must be shared around the world, and the numbers do not take into account the fair probability of manufacturing glitches, which seem to dog such launches. Shortages are almost guaranteed, at least through Christmas. I’d be amazed if the channel were well stocked through November and December.
If the U.S gets a million units by Christmas, it would be an achievement, but the PS3’s installed base would still not be much higher than Xbox 360s as of Xmas 2005. Sony says six million units (worldwide) will be ready by March. If they sell through, the market will be looking strong by E3 2007.
Tie-ratio
An optimistic tie-ratio of three would create a calendar 2006 market worth about 3 million games, shared out among eight to ten products. A 300,000 selling-game (highly optimistic) is a worthy goal, but in this environment it’s no money-spinner. Put it this way; in terms of unit-sales, it’ll place a game outside the top 40 sellers for the year. This leads us to believe that a significant proportion of launch titles will be multi-format releases, somewhat dampening the excitement.
In order to make money from PS3 in the early months, third parties would need to spread costs across platforms, create a genuine must-buy product, or create games that will still be selling in decent quantities six months or a year after launch. The brightest outlook comnes from the extra $10 next generation games will command - a price point which increasingly looks essential, as opposed to merely desirable.
For much of the game industry, this delay is effectively the absence of a major console for the best part of as year.
Launch games
At E3, we’ll see some PS3 games and there’ll be more details of the PlayStation Network Platform. Over the next few months, attention will turn towards the games on offer at launch. Publishers will no doubt ponder which of their prized launch titles - backed by $10 to $20 million in development investment - are likely to see a return from such a small audience.
In the fall, we can look forward to the excitement and buzz generated by a Sony and a Nintendo launch. But at games retail check-outs, 2006 will not be about PS3 or Revolution.
It will be about Xbox 360 which, we hope, will have a worldwide installed base of well over 5 million by the time PlayStation 3 arrives. And it will be about DS and PSP, both of which are benefiting from some market excitement. And it will still be about Xbox and PlayStation 2 games. This is a market in sharp decline, but it is still the meat and potatoes of retail revenues.
With that in mind, by what measure has the next generation actually arrived?
Market share
For Sony, another problem will be its marketshare. For the last ten years it has enjoyed significant dominance. This dominion has never before seemed so under threat.
Microsoft is targeting itself to sell 5.5 million Xbox 360’s by mid-summer. This looks improbable. But even if the firm comes in with 3 million, and a further 3 million before the end of this year (numbers which would disappoint the market and Microsoft), PlayStation still has a lot of catching up to do.
The best Sony can do to close that gap as quickly as possible is to make sure its most fertile market (and Microsoft’s weakest) is well-supplied. But what is good for Japan is not always good for the United States.
The company is probably looking at a full year on the market before it can hope to catch Microsoft. And we have not even begun to talk about Nintendo, which will enter the market with an innovative, low-priced and highly anticipated product supported by a brand which is enjoying a purple patch.
Sony will come through these trials. But the market is facing as tough a year as our most pessimistic seers could have predicted. We can only hope that E3 will inject some joy back into the industry.
i have just talked to a mate at a game shop and acording to him the ps3rep said the rsx chip is burning out most of the mouther boards
the only reason I would want a ps3 is becasue of SOCOM and considering there last game im not sure if thats worth it.
I would’t even consider a PS3 until Sony comes up with something comparible to Xbox Live. I don’t see that happening anytime soon!
WE should really expect fariness towards sony from a website that has xbox in the title.
I’ve been a Sony fanboy since I got the first Playstation. I really like the looks of the 360 and the powqer of what it can do. I am excited at what the PS3 could possibly bring to the market. Revolution WILL surprise people. With all that said. This will be the greatest generation of video gaming that we have ever seen. All the platforms are amazing in their own rights and will do well with what they attempt. :tup:
The PS3 seems intresting and might definately fail in parts that MS leaves out .. Like intergrated Media serve. being able to play Divx in Linux on the 60GB HDD. Theat can make or break any one .. having linux can really make a diff on this system interms of a power house media server. Key transfering files to the device HD adn not needing a PC to be a Media server. I have a 360 adn have played and cryed at how amaing it is. play GRAW on a 51 HDTV and tell me you won’t cry … but being a linux guy and knowing of what you can do with an open source os .. damn MS better be a bit worrired.