Barry
Mr. Do It All
Feb 21, 2006, 12:12 AM
Post #1 of 1
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PS3 Spring Launch Delayed?
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So will it arrive in the sprint? Rumors have the hugely overpirced PS3 will be late, not arriving for the Spring launch. Some problems surround possible incapabilities to meet specifications which are decided by industry consortiums. Sony has been promising a spring launch but has been deliberately vague about exactly when that would be. Analysts have said it could mean anytime between March and the end of Japan's rainy season in June.
PS3's launch might be delayed by six to 12 months and the cost of production could initially approach $900 per unit. Sony will have to take a much larger loss on each PS3 unit it sells or sacrifice market share to Microsoft, which is selling its Xbox 360 for about $400. Most analysts took the report in stride as they already expected Sony to launch the PS3 this summer in .
Having led the worldwide console gaming market for the last decade, Sony is counting on the new machine to dominate in all aspects of networked home entertainment -- games, movies, music and more. Japanese firms estimate that Sony could charge at most 50,000 yen ($420) for the console.
Retail price estimates by analysts in Japan vary widely from about 40,000 yen to several times that much, primarily because of all of the technology that is packed into the machine, which is expected to be the size of a laptop computer.
The PS3, which can be played simultaneously by up to seven people, will be powered by the "Cell" chip, which is significantly more powerful than Intel Corp.'s Pentium 4, the most common chip for today's PCs and existing game machine processors. It will also feature a super-powerful graphics chip, a built-in Ethernet port for high-speed Internet access, and Blu-ray, a next-generation DVD format backed by Sony.
Analysts generally agree that Sony will do whatever it can to avoid
missing the key year-end holiday season this year, but many believe it
will be unable to make the PS3 in great volumes. Game development for
the PS3 is also seen being delayed because the technology
specifications have not been finalized.
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