PlayStation 3 Release Date in Question

[Raider]

Considering Japan had the PSP around 9 months before the UK, then i'd say March 2007 is a very reasonable estimate for the first wave of units.

But the numbers seem very low even for the initial launch! Surely they'll sell 1 million units in Japan within the first few days?? And if they're having difficulty with yields then it'll take longer than the Xbox360 to re-stock.
USA will be similar. Maybe by the time PS3 is released in the UK they'll be chucking out many more units, but if they're still in short supply then we could be looking at June/July 2007 before the PS3 is widely available in the UK

Considering that Xbox360 will probably be in wide-supply everywhere in the world by March, Xbox360 will have a clear 6 month headstart in the US, and 12 months in the UK!!
And by Christmas this year, before the PS3 is even released I expect to see Xbox360 Premiums for £225 or less. If MS has the stock then I can see them selling Premiums for £199 at Xmas just to put the boot in!!

 

[Kalsius]

Well considering all the points above which I won't requote and the problems that have been reported on Cell yields I think Summer 2006 for a Europe launch is very very optimistic. If I see a PS3 this year next to my 360 I'll be pleasantly surprised.

 

[IceBus]

I was always telling people Christmas 2006 as the earliest we'd see them in Europe, and tbh March 2007 sounds completely plausible.

As others have said:-

• We've seen no in game footage (unless you count the MGS cut scene)
• Hardware hasn't been finalised - in fact the latest shots of the PC had 'Concept design' on a plaque next to it iirc.
• There's still been no price details for Japan or a firm release date - even a month. Everyone who's ever followed a game release date knows that when a game is still listed as Q1 as opposed to March, it's not coming out any time soon.
• Sony still haven't laid out any online plans - surely they have to come up with a strong strategy to rival Live, or at least provide something similar?

I'm not meaning to sound like a Sony basher here, as I was a diehard PS2 fan - it had better developer support, a better controller (pre-S for the Xbox) and imo had more AAA titles. However, this time around the X360 has better 3rd party developer support, Live is unbelievably well integrated and the Marketplace works fantastically already, it already has great first wave titles and now seems it'll have a massive headstart.

I originally thought about waiting for the PS3, but now I'm so glad I didn't. The 360 to me provides a next gen experience (mainly due to Live/media integration) and unless the PS3 provides a next-gen gameplay experience, I won't be paying ~£400 for better graphics than the X360.

 

[Manlove is my forte]

IMO The PS3 was set for a mid year launch in Japan, end of year launch in US and beginning of next year launch in the EU. However, I suspect they have bought a few 360s looked at what its doing and realised their product was not as well polished, I suspect they have backtracked a bit and are looking at how to make the PS3 a better product. I honestly do not believe that the US will see this console this year. I think Japan will be lucky if they see it this year.

 

[Kalsius]

The big problem Sony have now is that they are playing catchup. M$ is already out there, amassing customers and a loyal base to work from. By the time the PS3 hits they STILL have to beat 360 even though it may have had 6-9 months of additional development and feedback from customers.

However, I suspect they have bought a few 360s looked at what its doing and realised their product was not as well polished, I suspect they have backtracked a bit and are looking at how to make the PS3 a better product.

Even though it sounds corny, I think it may have some credibility. I sure as heck would have been out and bought 50 units for my console devs to have a look at and prod and poke. Maybe the bar wasn't as low as they thought and they are putting some serious resources into trying to beat M$

 

["andy"]

why do people assume theyre going to leave a huge gap between jap and europe releases ?

surely they have a lot riding on the ps3 and have learned from there mistakes with the psp

 

[DaveyD]

why do people assume theyre going to leave a huge gap between jap and europe releases ?

surely they have a lot riding on the ps3 and have learned from there mistakes with the psp

Because I doubt they'll break tradition, they've always left it months between regions.

What were the PSP mistakes? (I didn't follow the launch enough to note any).

 

[Psycho Ned]

Unless sony can pump PS3's out a much faster rate than M$ are with the 360 (which is very unlikely seeing as they are using brand new blu ray drives which I imagine not many factorys will be making) then they would be cutting their nose off to spite their face, theres thousands if not millions of Japanese who will be desperate for a PS3 why would sony disappoint loads of them by spreading their launch allocation all over the world so they cant buy one?

end of the day sony know the vast majority of casual gamers gonna lap the PS3 up whenever they pump it out so why stretch their resources by releasing it worldwide quickly? M$ are desperate to make an impact in the console market so they will try stuff like worldwide launches, sony really dont have to.

 

[barnettgs]

IGN

According to a report in today's Interactve Investor, Evan Wilson, an industry analyst with Pacific Crest Securities, predicted that the PS3 will launch in North American in November 2006 with about one million units available at launch to be followed by a European launch in March 2007. Wilson stated that the Japanese launch of the next-generation console would occur in the summer.

http://ps3.ign.com/articles/681/681547p1.html

 

[Euro_Hunter]

It might be in Sony's best interest to release in 2007 anyway. The 360 will be over a year old and a lot of people will be bored with it and want the latest console.