PlayStation3 Officially Delayed Until November 2006

Japanese newspaper reports PlayStation 3 delayed to November

Rob Fahey 19:01 14/03/2006

Six month delay caused by unresolved technical issues with Blu-Ray

One of Japan's leading newspapers, the Nihon Keizai Shimbun, is
reporting in its Wednesday morning edition that the PlayStation 3
console has been delayed to November due to unresolved issues with the
Blu-Ray technology.

According to the paper, the problem lies with the copy protection
system used by Blu-Ray, details of which have not yet been finalised -
which will now cause a delay of some six months to Sony's PS3 plans.

archang...

OK, who seriously believes technical issues with the **copy
protection** are why the game media has NOT been talking about or showing
PS3 playable previews?

Scott H...

Point and set.

Sony has always maintained that the PS3 will launch in spring of this
year, but most industry commentators and third-party publishers are
currently anticipating US and Japanese launches late in 2006, followed
by a European launch in early 2007.

If the Japanese launch doesn't occur until November, that could put any
hope of a US launch in 2006 in jeopardy - which would give rival
Microsoft a second Christmas on the market before the arrival of PS3 in
the US as well as in Europe, as well as giving Nintendo a head-start
with the Revolution console.

The newspaper report comes just hours before Sony Computer
Entertainment boss Ken Kutaragi is due to address a conference audience
of media, analysts and third party publishers in Tokyo, where he is
expected to announce details of the firm's plans for the
next-generation PS3 system.

However, it's not clear whether Nihon Keizai Shimbun is reporting on
leaked details from this conference, or whether the report is based on
information from other sources. Speculation that technical problems
with Blu-Ray could delay the roll-out of PS3 has been rife for well
over a month, and has not been quelled by the announcement that Blu-Ray
movie players will ship in North America in mid-May.

Sony's conference is planned for 3pm in Tokyo on Wednesday - around 6am
GMT - and is also expected to feature a first look at some of the
launch line-up for the console.

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Though NDAs on Sony's business conference have yet to be lifted, Wall
Street financial sources seem to confirm that the Playstation 3 will
not be hitting shelves until at least November of this year:

14-Mar-06 12:28 ET In Play Sony to delay the release of its PlayStation
3 next-generation video game console - DJ (SNE) 47.48 +0.71: Dow Jones
reporting that Sony Computer Entertainment will delay the release of
its PlayStation 3 next-generation video game console until early
November because the copy protection technology for the Blu-ray Disc
has not been finalized, The Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported in its
Wednesday morning edition.

Considering that the original report came from a Japanese newspaper, it
is assumed that the Novemeber release date is intended for Japan.
Unless there is a simultaneous release in the US, as well, domestic
gamers may not see the PS3 until 2007. If the Blu-ray copy protection
isn't finished, that may also delay the release of Sony's standalone
players for the new format, giving HD-DVD a slight edge.

Once the NDAs are lifted and more details are confirmed, we'll have
them for you.