Sony May Delay PS3 Until 2007 457
GodFather writes "ArsTechnica posted an article that claims the PS3 may be pushed back as far as 2007 if the Xbox 360 launch flops. The reasoning behind it? If Microsoft comes out with a weak set of titles at launch Sony could delay and build a larger launch library to lay the smack down on Microsoft."
Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft's continual failure to dominate with the xbox and their growing unpopularity with the general market place leaves them little hope of gaining significant access to the living room.
They have managed to do considerable damage to their brand name and when it comes to accessing the living room that is terminal, except for the cheap junk market (microsoft's destiny?
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:3, Informative)
Growing unpopularity in the general market? Wait, since when was the general market slashdot geeks who put jabs at MS in their sigs? The Xbox is far from 'unpopular', and far from a 'failure'.
They are not playing Microsoft... (Score:4, Insightful)
They are telling the public (a la press release) that the M$ console is not really that big of a threat and is willing to wait while the paint dries on their product.
Apply this to the mentality of little johnny Uber-1337, 'whoa I better make mommy and daddy wait until the sony comes out before I throw my tantrum because they already know they are better then M$!!!"
This is all chess, its all about the moves... When some company tells the public something they are just that, telling you something. It has no warrenty, guarentee or even the assumption that they are telling you this in an unbiased whole hearted manner.
They like M$ and pretty much evrey other high roller company is just trying to fuck with as many heads as they can and hope for the best.
Take this with a pound of salt....
Re:They are not playing Microsoft... (Score:5, Informative)
You do realize that this was some independent analyst suggesting this is what Sony MIGHT do, not a press release from Sony saying what they plan to do.
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:3, Insightful)
-Sega CD - no 3rd part support, then abandonment altogether
-32X - Same deal
-Saturn - once again 3rd party support support was non-existent
Dreamcast was dead after Sega's constant stream of releasing bad/expensive hardware then abandoning it. When you burn your own customers they wont return, Nintendo so far is doing the exact same thing sega has been doing since the N64 in terms of 3rd party support. De
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:2)
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:2)
Smarter than that (Score:3, Insightful)
Possibly the worst thing they could do in that situation is to launch a PS3 that doesn't meet those expectations. If you do that then the main reason people haven't been buying the 360 suddenly disappears. As long as people do appear willing to wait it would make sense to use that time to ensure your product is better placed than
Re:Smarter than that (Score:2)
this will be the first time i'll be buying a console, and i'll be waiting for a PS3.
Why?
because i was terribly disappointed by their "release" MTV gig, and because of their fumbling on the whole HD issue.
as long as sony releases a solid console where I won't have to worry about hardware upgrades, i'll have no trouble waiting...
Re:Not the Smartest Idea I've heard (Score:3, Insightful)
Matches Sony's European PSP strategy (Score:2)
I can't imagine [delaying its product] being a good idea, Sony would be giving Microsoft a chance to keep moving next gen units and Nintendo a chance to leapfrog them with the Revolution while they sit idle just so they can have a larger library on launch?
That's what Sony is doing in Europe, especially with the intolerance toward imports of PSP units [slashdot.org].
Advantage of a wide variety of launch titles (Score:2)
They really just need one really good launch title with others trickling in to keep interest up.
If the one good Xbox 360 launch title is a first-person shooter, as many people expect (rumored Halo 2 Special Edition), then the console has no chance of getting into households without fans of first-person shooters. Or even if it's not an FPS, if the one good launch title is rated M by the ESRB, then the console has no chance of getting into households with single-digit-year-old children. Point: You need a
Not unless it's leaked (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Not unless it's leaked (Score:2, Interesting)
Re:Not unless it's leaked (Score:2)
Wrong wording (Score:4, Interesting)
Be first or... (Score:4, Insightful)
Be first, or
be second and be happy with that, or
go play elsewhere.
You cannot underestimate the value of being first into the market with a new gadget. The '360 and PS3 are 'new generation', and therefore I'll define them as new gadgets.
Few will care if MS titles aren't *that* strong at the get go - the graphics will apparently be awesome. And, for a while anyway, that will be important.
Sony: you have *got* to release the PS3.
Re:Be first or... (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Be first or... (Score:3, Insightful)
1. Launch first.
2. Launch simulaneously.
3. Launch second.
#1 is what they chose, and it makes sense. People will buy because it's the first new console out in a while. If you remember the DC launch, it went very well -- most preorders and a console sales record for the time. They just got crushed later on by the PS2.
If they went with #2, they would be going head-to-head against the PS3 and a lot of people would choose PS3 instead. Most don't have the cash to la
...according to an analyst. (Score:5, Insightful)
In other words, some random guy who doesn't work for Sony is predicting that Sony may delay the PS3, based basically on having read the same news reports you and I do.
This should be taken with exactly as much credence as if you'd heard "well this guy on the internet thinks that Sony is going to..."
Which is to say.
None.
Re:...according to an analyst. (Score:4, Interesting)
Re:...according to an analyst. (Score:2)
Re:...according to an analyst. (Score:2)
Except that invites confusion with the PSOne. Go Sony marketing!
Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:3, Insightful)
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:4, Insightful)
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:3, Interesting)
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:3, Informative)
Uh, no. I think Microsoft would prefer that those ten friends also buy XBoxes in addition to all those games.
I don't see why so many people have such a hard time grasping this "loss leader" concept. Microsoft loses money on each console sold, which they intend to recoup by game sales. However, Microsoft loses MORE money when those consoles AREN'T bought.
It seems most Slashdotters think t
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2, Insightful)
I, for one, couldn't care less about the lack of HD-DVD on Xbox 360. I'm going to get an Xbox 360 to play the games, and when in some distant future HD-DVD movies start becoming widely available, I'll get the Xbox upgrade or buy an HD-DVD player.
Do you not think Microsoft did some market research to s
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
Do you really think MS would encourage developers to produce HD-DVD only games? The 32x failed because it splintered the Genesis market. There were a handful of games that used the 32x but not the Sega CD. Another handful required both.
Rather than bring up the 32x, you should look instead at the Sega CD, which was in terms of games, a relatively successful a
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
There wasn't any consumer excitment over DVD a year before the earliest hardware came to market. In fact, there wasn't too much interest for the first year or two after hardware was introduced. After all, other high-end formats that were just as high quality had come claiming to be the next big thing, and gone away with a wimper. People weren't anxious to jump on the DVD bandwagon.
And the visual leap from
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:3, Insightful)
Of course the 360 launch is going to flop
No, it won't. Microsoft's marketing machine will not let that occur.
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
BTW, some Lord of the Rings fans paid twice for new editions released months later.
Also, early-adopters who bought a first generation PS or PS2 got stuck with more faulty hardware than the later versions.
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
Well when one can't get anything comparable on the market, I think many people will buy whatever is available.
Even with Sony's console comes out earlier, it will most likely be more expensive than the 360 + add-on HD-DVD.
http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q=ps3+expensive &btnG=Google+Search [google.com]
Where are now all those PS3 Cell zealots?
If Apple dumped IBM earlier, perhaps Sony would have gotten a clue. Heh
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:5, Informative)
No, they didn't.
Read this. [arstechnica.com]
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
Most titles were CDs because the game fitted onto one, but there were DVD games. Kessen comes to mind, and I'm quite sure there was one or two others at launch (or very soon after it).
Re:Xbox 360 Flop? (Score:2)
I mean, most people don't honestly give a crap about what format the drive is. Most people likely don't know the difference (and with consoles, you're not expected to know all the different components).
And having an HD-DVD in the 360 won't make a big difference to the owner, compared with the DVD version, other than being able to play HD-DV
Perhaps a response from Sony to MS.. (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Perhaps a response from Sony to MS.. (Score:2, Insightful)
Re:Perhaps a response from Sony to MS.. (Score:5, Informative)
He did no such thing. It has ALWAYS been specified that the Xbox360 would have a regular DVD drive (see this article from May [teamxbox.com]), because the next gen formats would not be available in time. What he announced recently was that in the future, they may ship new models with HD DVD drives.
Larger library does not mean better library (Score:5, Insightful)
I used to own a Playstation years ago, and one of my favorite things about it was that the library of games for the system was incredibly vast. However, scratching the surface revealed that many of the games were cheap ripoffs of each other and that truly original games were few and far between.
Nintendo has always seemed to have a talent for coming up with a decent library of original games that keeps the devoted coming back. Sony, on the other hand, seems to push quantity over quality when it comes to their library. If they are going to take 2 years to fill out their launch library, I wonder how much of that will be really good games and how much of it will be cutscene movies (Final Fantasy), sequels (anything by Rockstar), and played out genres (the FPS comes to mind).
I really like Sony. I owned many of their walkmans years ago, and I enjoyed the gaming I did on the original Playstation. But both they and the audience must learn that just because you have many times the number of games as your competitor, it is not a very good metric because the number of good, original games in that library may be only a fraction of that amount.
Re:Larger library does not mean better library (Score:5, Insightful)
Re:Larger library does not mean better library (Score:2)
Jump Ball!
Re:Larger library does not mean better library (Score:2)
Re: (Score:2)
Re:Larger library does not mean better library (Score:2)
I agree. Unfortunately, the numbers speak for themselves. Nintendo isn't doing nearly as well as Sony or Microsoft, so I doubt they are going to change their strategy completely around and follow the lead of the last-place competitor.
I hope they do (Score:2)
Another year might not mean launching with drastically better hardware (think the newer slim ps2 vs the original layout) but we'll probably have fewer heat distribution problems, better wireless technology, all of that.
Realistically though, all of the publishers working on games for a mid 2006 launch are unlikely to site on potential profits for a year so sony can have a PR "t
Personally (Score:5, Interesting)
Re:Personally (Score:2)
AFAIK none of the dates have been announced yet. That aside, Microsoft have always (again, AFAIK) said "end of 2005", and that's what it looks like we're getting. Sony countered with a "H1 2006" (IIRC, from E3) and now some people are predicting that may change. I don't see either marketing dept partaking in "corporate triple-dog-dare" unless it's behind closed doors.
Hold 'em back (Score:3, Interesting)
May backfire at first, but ultimately succeed (Score:2)
Re:May backfire at first, but ultimately succeed (Score:2)
Plus, they released a year after the Dreamcast, stating similar reasons, but still had an
Might be stupid (Score:3, Insightful)
How can Sony delay for a year and have more games on launch than a console
which will have had an 18 month head start?
Neko
Re:Might be stupid (Score:2)
Bah, bottom line tactics (Score:3, Funny)
[subconscious rant]so it is all about who can make the biggest buck!?! I know I may be playing against the grain, but is money all they really think about these days?! What about the 12 year olds who were dying for this on their next birthday, and they will have to wait another year, just because of the bottom line! Insane I tell you![/subconscious rant]
Re:Bah, bottom line tactics (Score:2)
I guess that they'll have to read, or play outside, or learn that the world isn't handed to them on a silver platter.
Strange logic... (Score:2)
this might be the opportunity (Score:5, Funny)
Re:this might be the opportunity (Score:2)
Microsoft finally becoming borg... (Score:5, Funny)
We are the Microsoft. You will be assimilated. The exact date of assimilation has slipped once again, but we expect to be at your planet sometime Q1 next year. Be sure to watch for us.
We will bring your total cost of living down through universal cybernetic hardware implants. Periodic software updates may be purchased to allow you to control the new hardware that will periodically sprout from your body. Your normal motor functions will be replaced with an expensive yet inferior system that will only allow you to shuffle along like a crippled old man.
You will have access to the ultimate Peer-to-Peer network with secure music downloads direct to the brain with properly activated frontal lobes.
We will tell you where you want to go.
Questionable logic... (Score:2)
I am more inclined to think that any delay would be more indicative of a difficulty in churning out the required hardware rather than some willingness to delay the launch.
Nahhh (Score:5, Insightful)
Whatever... (Score:2, Interesting)
Err.. guys... (Score:2, Insightful)
Titles make the difference (Score:2, Insightful)
People have already pointed this out, but titles make so much of a difference. The problem with Xbox 360 right now is that the only strong title it has for itself is Halo 3. Sure some of the other titles look pretty, but who the hell knows if the actual game play is any good. Then they also have a good amount of titles that will probably be on the PC to, which wont turn people into dumping $300 when they can play it on their pc. Now add on top of that the Xbox 360 might add a HD-DVD down the line, and d
Re:Titles make the difference (Score:2)
Hello rampant speculation (Score:5, Interesting)
It's still too expensive for launch. (Score:5, Interesting)
From the column:
Merrill Lynch estimated that the cost to produce a single PS3 would be a shade under $500. Considering that the Xbox 360 is expected will be priced at around $299, it was felt that even a $399 price tag on the PS3 meant Sony taking a $1bn hit on hardware costs alone in the first year.
When you consider that they've packed Bluetooth, HDTV (a feature Nintendo ended up dropping because of cost) and the first Commercial release of Blu-Ray in there, it's not too surprising that the earlier they launch the console, the harder Sony's going to get hit in the pocket.
Re:It's still too expensive for launch. (Score:3, Insightful)
Nintendo dropped the HDTV because of costs to the developers. Supporting HDTV, well..in the other two cases mandating it, forces companies, who want to make more gameplay focused games on throwing resources (i.e.$$$) that so that they make the graphics quality not look like ass on HDTV.
aging hardware (Score:5, Insightful)
What I think Sony or others should do, if they are moving in a parallel direction, is try to anticipate this gap between initial hardware finalization and the launch of the console, and have developers write to a more stripped down version of the hardware while you anticipate the final version having more cores or an additional CPU by the time you launch. That way the initial games might not take full advantage of the hardware but the second you start making consoles you'll know you are at as close to the bleeding edge as possible. When the 2nd wave of software gets finished it will be able to take advantage of the "last minute" extra hardware.
You either do that or you write the software to automatically elegantly upscale to theoretical extra parallelism.
My own analysis based on all known facts: (Score:2)
Hitting "multibuyers" (Score:2)
If you release too close, you're telling consumers, "Okay, pick one." People don't want to spend too much money all at once. The company that forces this situation is the one that things it will be the first choice, and maybe Sony is having some reservations about this.
On the other hand, if they wait
Larger library? (Score:3, Insightful)
Delay so they can go head to head with Microsoft, who will have also increased their title library since launch, and already have an install base? We'll see how it plays out, sounds like a stupid strategy to me...
Blu-ray? (Score:2)
Nintendo Revolution Overlooked (Score:2, Interesting)
Incorrect Assumptions (Score:4, Interesting)
Second, I don't think the new PS2 price cut is going to take away the Xbox 360's thunder. That's just on opinion of course and I have no idea how it will pan out. But considering the PS3 launch is (supposedly) fairly soon after the 360's launch I would rather save my money and buy that than an aging PS2.
Third, I've seen a lot of mention about the whole HD-DVD thing in this thread. Now console players are usually not as tech savvy as say a PC gamer. They don't have to be. Out of idle curiosity I asked my friend who is a major console gamer what he thought of Microsoft decision to not include an HD-DVD drive with the 360. He just sort of looked at me blankly, he had no fucking clue what it was. So will this hurt Microsoft in the slightest? Possibly if the media screams about them not having HD-DVD, but more than likely, no. I personally feel that an HD-DVD isn't even needed for the next-gen consoles, but hey, everyone can have an opinion eh?
Now assuming Microsoft doesn't completely fuck up the launch (i.e. - letting a major bug that renders the console useless slip by them, such as exploding power supplies) then I can't even see the console flopping. But even if it does Sony would be making a huge mistake by delaying the PS3 another year.
Besides, the Xbox has Halo and a few other decent games. The main one is Halo though. Halo 3 will sell the Xbox 360, there's no question about it. This is a moot speculation by an analyst who obviously doesn't know what he's talking about.
PS3 misses Christmas 06? (Score:2)
...larger launch library... (Score:5, Insightful)
Wait, no it doesnt.
The PS2 had a bunch of crap right out of the gate. The leader of the pack was a mediocre snowboarding game that was propelled to stardom by the fact that it was one of the very few games worth owning at the time.
Yeah, the xbox had Halo at launch, but that didnt matter either. They could have released it at any time and still garnered the same results (a lot of sold hardware).
The Gamecube had one outstanding game (Rogue Leader) at launch, and then THREE MONTHS OF NOTHING until Super Smash Bros Melee, and the console continues to be #2 worldwide.
Two crappy launches (in regards to titles) and those are beating out a wildly successful launch in the long run.
Now, if the consoles launch at the same time it matters... Or at least one would think so. The cube's poor launch was within days of the xbox's great one (again, in regards to games only), and they are in a dead heat now.
So I guess my point is: "Analyst" speculation is less than worthless, and history reveals that supposedly obvious things make no sense at all.
Quit posting what amounts to random guessing about the ps3 and 360. We dont see a story every time a new fake Revolution controller pic hits the net, so why do we still get this crap?
Will this start the waiting game? (Score:3, Insightful)
PS1 relied on some great timing and release games. Will the XBOX and the PS3 both delay and build up their game offerings until one makes the first move?
I think the PS3 will not delay to be honest - Christmas is looming, and if they can release in time for this, then they will lead in many respects.
My newphew (who as you may have heard knows everything about every gaming platform, game and addon) sold his PS2 (for much more than the $70 described in the recent
Aaaanyway. The innocence of youth.
This next gen of consoles may break some more competitors out of the ring. As multiplayer gets hotter, and platform exclusive games get more prevelant, then for the consumers one platform is the best choice, as kids want to play the same games together.
Therefore this may be a case of survival of the fittest, and my money is on PS3, as sony have 2 very successful releases under their belts, and XBOX was just a couple of trillion gajillion dollars of advertising, and Halo, which was a SHIT game, and I don't care what you say. An FPS with vehicles that feels like tribes, but can the playability of a 1997 game.
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I think this is true... (Score:4, Funny)
Nintendo's probably farthest behind of all (Score:5, Interesting)
I don't think Nintendo's anywhere near ready to ship this thing.
Also their memory supplier let slip that they believed the revolution would ship in "mid-2006". Take that however you want.
My personal suspicion would probably be that the Revolution is going to be released last. Nintendo's either got the most amazing show of secrecy ever constructed among men, or they aren't nearly as far along as Sony and Microsoft. And I doubt Sony will delay a console release just because they don't have any games. They didn't delay the PS2 launch for lack of games, they didn't delay the Japan PSP launch for lack of games, and when they delayed the American PSP launch (for lack of games at the time of Japanese launch?) it didn't really help them much.
If I'm right about this, though, Nintendo probably won't suffer much for coming out last. They seem to be going for a very different sort of strategy next generation than Sony and Microsoft.
Re:Nintendo's probably farthest behind of all (Score:5, Insightful)
And the one thing that we don't know anything about for the Revolution is the controller. Which, again if memory serves, Nintendo said they wanted to keep very, very secret. Xbox360 controller? Slightly-less-massive than Xbox controller. PS3 controller? Looks like it'd make a good sex toy and/or boomerang. Revolution controller? Don't know yet...
The other thing is, Nintendo is not overhyping the Revolution, which could be a great benefit. If it launches with features no one heard any rumours about, people could easily be quite stunned and surprised, and that surprise could turn into purchases. Compared to an overhyped product, which doesn't have rumoured features - PS3/Xbox360 could easily loose sales because of overhyping...
Re:Yeah Right! (Score:3, Insightful)
While the Analyst may have some things wrong.... what IS correct is that Sony cannot afford another lackluster launch with crappy titles. And it cannot afford another disastrous Christmas where demand for their console can't be met... It was appallingly bad to see such a problem with a mature item like the PS2.
If the 360 has a title drought like the PS2, people will be more likely to avoid the PS3 if it comes out in Spring with the same drought (or a similar one...) It's the g
Re:Fire all those sony bastids (Score:3, Insightful)
Microsoft better have a decent stable of non-shovelware with their new 360, or they mi
Re:Fire all those sony bastids (Score:2)
duh! they, like told us to! obviously the previous, inferior products are like totally lame and stuff, what are you, like stupid? i mean those consoles can't even do... whatever... whatever the new ones do, whatever! moron.
Re:Fire all those sony bastids (Score:2)
I don't have a TV, so I don't get the important information. I just plug games into my PS2 and imagine what they look like.
Re:Fire all those sony bastids (Score:2)
Of all the new, next-gen consoles, with HDTV support and dolby digital+ sound, just guess how many are going to be hooked up to an old color tv with an rf adapter.
I mean it damn you, GUESS!
progress: It's like fun, only it sucks.
Re:Stupid article (Score:2)
The issue I see with this generation is that many people will be under welmed. We had the 8bit generation -> 16bit with more colors and better sound -> 32bit with amazing 2d and primative 3d -> current gen which just makes the 3d look sharper. The next gen games will have better graphics, but the main draw to
Re:Stupid article (Score:5, Insightful)
Like they did with the Dreamcast... or the CDi, or the Turbo-Graphix 16...
why does everyone seem to think "first to market" is a silver bullet that trumps all other issues?
Yeah, I dunno, not so stupid (Score:2)
Hell, some of them had some great titles -- TG16, for example, had some cool stuff built and released in Japan -- but nothing that really resonated.
I'm amused by the comments here: the Xbox supporters tout technological superiority and mutters "shovelware" at the opposition; the PS crowd points to unit sales, and refers to the
Re:Stupid article (Score:2)
This has been proven time and time again, and in my opinion never more so than with the launch of the PS2. So I'm guessing Sony would know better than to let anybody get the jump on them this next generation...look how well that lead worked out for them with the PS2.
Re:If Sony Is Smart (Score:2)
360 in 2007 - $200 w/ a couple hundred games available
PS3 in 2007 - $300 w/ strong launch titles
For a lot of people, the $100 makes the decision for them, and the games available seals the deal.
Re:Sony May Not Delay PS3 Until 2007 (Score:2)