The PlayStation 3 delay meme, part VI: Variety sez holidays 06

There isn't exactly a pull quote from Sony's head, Sir Howard Stringer (or Howie Stringy, as we like to call him around these parts), but Variety's latest profile on the man at the top pretty clearly states that despite Sony's claims to introduce the PlayStation 3 this spring, it'll be delayed into the holiday 2006 season -- and that's presumably for Japan, America could be any amount of time later than that. We've more or less come to terms with this as truth by now, we just wish Sony'd admit it or launch the PS3 already, and stop yanking our chains. So don't be surprised when, as usual, some Sony talking head chimes in about their sticking to their spring 2006 plans, and that so and so had this and that totally wrong about what they've got going on to launch on time. After all, a company like Sony just loves holding its cards to its chest, we know this, but did we mention we're already a month into spring? This concludes today's PlayStation 3 delayed post, everyone, thank you for your attention.

[Via Joystiq]

[PS3 Fanatic @ Mar 6th 2006 12:59PM]

Already a month into spring? Actually, Spring hasn't even started yet. It starts on the Vernal Equinox, on March 20. That gives Sony three and a half months to stick to its claim.

[xbox360dsPSP @ Mar 6th 2006 1:26PM]

Spring in the southern hemisphere.

[Ben @ Mar 6th 2006 1:27PM]

Yeah...last time I looked at a calendar March 20th was the first day of spring.

[Eric @ Mar 6th 2006 1:28PM]

I read Variety's article this morning and in no way does it provide any information that you could infer the 'before holidays' was for Japan.

[Alexandre Donzel @ Mar 6th 2006 1:38PM]

Yay, sony PS3 is getting delayed AGAIN, and pl are getting more and more pissed/frustrated, and are going to go buy a 360, just to wait for the ps3 to come out. then, theyll say, OMG!! this tyhing is SOO expensive, i cant afford it now ive bought an XBOX 360 with 4 wireless controllers and games, OOPS! Sony, if u guys r reading this, your PR is SO f**king screwed. ffs, when u say no more rootkits and a fix, just do it!!! when u bring out a hot new console/PMP, get the games for it, not just the year-old s**t thats been sitting on our reatilers shelves for the last year!
And NO, denial and lying never gets you anywhere as far as PR and customer support is concerned, but being honest and just telling the goddamned truth on sth at least tells ppl youre honestly trying to do youre best at creating the dreamconsole, not trying to make the biggest COOA (cover our own asses) op ever.
DAMMIT, sony is sriously getting me pissed!!!

[RyanV @ Mar 6th 2006 1:40PM]

it doesnt have to provide information that it is coming out in Japan first.... we all know that for fact already. Sony has already stated that a global launch is out of the question (and seeing how poorly microsoft pulled off its global launch, i can see why)

Long story short is if we havent heard any information about price points, release dates, etc by now, dont expect to see the console in full steam production in the near future. A spring release date is completely unrealistic at this point.

I personally think that Sony will be lucky to get PS3 out in Japan by next holiday season which means we wont see it stateside till around this time next year.

This is exactly what Microsoft needs too. They will have a solid year jump start on Sony, and as loyal as the playstation crowd is, some will stray over to the 360 as a way to get into some next gen content and my guess is those folks will like what they see on 360.

[Greg @ Mar 6th 2006 1:54PM]

PS3 developers are in limbo. Sure it gives them more development time, but the cost of developing those games will rocket. What a F*** up.

G$

[PS3 Fanatic @ Mar 6th 2006 1:56PM]

#5. First of all, the people that wound up getting a 360 during this shortage most likely will fall into the "hardcore gamer" group who will wind up getting every major console anyway, or in the group that could afford to pay $1,000 on eBay for it.

The fact that you still cannot find a non-bundled 360 in major areas shows that Microsoft has not been able to beef up their production number to satisfy the mainstream gaming population. Miscrosoft's initial projection was 3 million units in the first 90 days. Well 90 days has come and gone and that haven't met that yet. I dont even think (not sure on this one) that they have surpassed 1.5 million in the US.

Second, SCE is a completely different business unit from Sony BMG. As bad as the rootkit situation is/was, people interested in the PS3 will not be swayed by the screw ups of Sony's music division.

Lastly, even if Sony does drop its Spring launch, look at how much buzz is being generated by tight-lipped Sony. If buzz was measurable, I would venture to say that there is more buzz for the PS3 than there was for the 360. Sony has its loyalists salivating for any new and CONFIRMED information about release date and price. As far as this Variety article goes, I would take it with a grain of salt, being that there were no direct quotations from Howie regarding the launch window.

[blaze @ Mar 6th 2006 2:03PM]

This is just crazy. Why cant Sony simply admit that they cant possibly lauch this thing in the spring. They are really overdoing it.

[koppite1 @ Mar 6th 2006 2:08PM]

As a UK citizen I find it amusing americans worry when they'll get the PS3

[Joe M @ Mar 6th 2006 2:11PM]

It's probably part of their plan. By saying that they were going to release it in spring people who were undecided between 360 and ps3 would wait to compare. Now those people aren't as hyped up about the 360 so will probably wait for the release of the ps3

[bob dillon @ Mar 6th 2006 2:24PM]

I've never seen so many Sony fanboys in denial before. It's already started, just in the few comments posted. I won't believe it until the head of Sony makes a press statement. They are going to hold out as long as they can because they don't want anymore people jumping ship to another console. I think someone should create a betting pool for when it will actually launch in the US. My money is on early 2007. Like March of next year. Say what you will but, if Sony was still planning on launching in Spring this year, you would have heard a lot more about it by now.

[Ken @ Mar 6th 2006 2:25PM]

10. As a UK citizen I find it amusing americans worry when they'll get the PS3

yes, those silly americans. they are probably the only people in the world who are pro-active consumers. of course you are reading all of the japanese tabloids and blogs right? ya, of course you are.

or is it because you have no choice other than to mock everyone else since the UK is always dead last to receive anything gaming wise (minus the select football manager titles and other various UK first) so you've developed a sort of humor about it to get you through the day. check that, australia, russia and probably many other countries are after UK. you get the idea.

a gaming site such as tothegame.com will support what i'm getting at here (shows release dates in UK/USA/NORDIC). i have nothing against the UK, I order from amazon.co.uk on occasion for alternative movie versions (28 days later, boondock saints, etc). I just have issues with those type of comments, though my ironicle rhetort does nothing to improve things, it just makes me feel better to rant for a minute.

[Tesley @ Mar 6th 2006 2:30PM]

Ok, first of all, the delay is not official, just speculation accordind to Joysiq. http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/06/variety-com-ps3-report-confirms-absolutely-nothing/
Second of all, why would a sony fan get frustrated in such a way that this fan will go and buy a X360? That would never happen unless it's a two years delay. So MS fanboys, don't think people will strat buying the 360 because the ps3 is delay, after all, where can u get me a 360?

[ninjaKid @ Mar 6th 2006 2:57PM]

don't you mean "meme"?

[melfster @ Mar 6th 2006 2:57PM]

Maybe I am mistaken but I thought it was the games that sell systems. If this is true then if Xbox 360 2nd gen games beat 1st gen PS3 games then PS3 is in trouble. Else if the PS3 launch games are stellar then PS3 is going to rule.

[Jake @ Mar 6th 2006 4:10PM]

I think it's clear (and it has been for quite some time) that Sony won't make the Spring '06 date. However, I don't understand what it is about "in time for the holidays" that screams 2007 like so many people seem to be comprehending from the article. Aside from this not even being a quote from Stringer, it in no way implies 2007. In case you've forgoten, September is still in time for the holidays. And to refute a point that was made above: yes, Sony has denied the possibility of a complete global launch, but never have they said that a two territory launch wouldn't happen.

[wingman358 @ Mar 6th 2006 4:14PM]

Did anyone actually believe Sony? They're probably delaying because they need to write another rootkit or something.

[rmcan @ Mar 6th 2006 4:39PM]

I'm sorry, but why should I believe that Variety has any interest in the Japanese launch date for the PS3 rather than its American date? I don't see an official delay announcement from this article.

[al d @ Mar 6th 2006 4:46PM]

So you got your "scoop" from Variety. Hilarious.

[Rick @ Mar 6th 2006 6:35PM]

I just can't wait for the Sony fanboys and their reasons on why this is such an AWESOME move on Sony's part. I've already seen some hints of denial in some of the posts. Yeah its news....and like any news source it takes a bunch of facts and information to come up with more than just a haphazard conclusion. I think you guys would still be in denial even if it was Dec 31, 2006 and no PS3 console. And of course there are the good Microsoft bashers that will attribute anything bad about the 360 launch and somehow draw the conclusion that this is the reasoning behind Sony's strategy.

[iLLmatic @ Mar 6th 2006 6:35PM]

Correct me if I'm wrong, but the last time I checked, Spring doesn't start until late this month. Now, I'm not saying that I believe nor disbelieve that the PS3 will be out this Spring, but seeing as how the season hasn't started yet, and isn't over until late June, I think people need to relax with the speculation and predictions, at least for the time being. Sony said Spring '06, never said as soon as Spring begins or gave any date whatsoever.

[Finished.Law.School @ Mar 6th 2006 8:11PM]

The whole PS3 thing is a hoax. There will never be a PS3.

[Sunny Garcia @ Mar 6th 2006 8:26PM]

What's wrong with everybody? I already have mine. It's a matter of who you know.

[Kenny @ Mar 6th 2006 8:58PM]

Don't matter to me... I'm getting the NINTENDO REVOLUTION.

Had all three systems and the Gamecube was the most fun... and it's gonna be so friggin awesome with the new tech the Revolution's gonna have! Major interactivity, as evidenced by the controller!

[Chris McDowell @ Mar 6th 2006 9:00PM]

Mine broke. That thing lasted all of a week and then just started melting on the floor into a puddle of plastic and wires. Blu-Ray is great until your console becomes a liquid and stops working.

[Jim N @ Mar 7th 2006 1:18AM]

I completely agree with the other post here. This is Sony's way of trying to hold off potential Xbox 360 buyers. Says allot for a company when they have to bait their loyal fan base along just to try to sales.

If Sony is not up front about this it makes me wonder about the screen shots, wonderous features, and the online service they are talking about. If this is all just a bunch of empty promises to.


#14: CurcuitCity.com, was selling them last weekend. I think you are very wrong there are allot of people who will buy the Xbox 360 to get the new games. Better graphics, XBL Arcade.

[jerry micheals @ Mar 7th 2006 2:20AM]

mememememememememememememememe durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp durp

[Adam Blufia @ Mar 7th 2006 10:09AM]

#13: "ironicle" - are you quite sure ?

and yes, developing a sense of humour does help when coming to terms with the fact we are last on the list - and then after creating so much marketing hype that we all want one, Sony will then ban companies from shipping in grey imports from America / Asia (see the PSP release schedule / debacle).

and don't get me started on the pricing structure either - just because we live on island doesn't mean we should get royally shafted for every piece of hardware and software available !

:)

[John Bellone @ Mar 7th 2006 10:12AM]

The only thing that is worse than Sony fanboys are Nintendo fanboys. I love seeing how people go crazy when things are delayed, but what did you really expect? Sony has not even officially shown the console at any convention yet, and I suspect that GDC and E3 will be the major blockbusters this year. We're going to see the PS3 and Revolution (well, hopefully, Nintendo has said even less than Sony).

But why is everyone proclaiming that the Revolution is going to be exactly that? Nintendo spins their PR almost as bad as Sony. The only thing that we've seen is a case and a controller. At least we've seen some form of game content from the developers. I'd rather have Sony delay the console for 6-8 months and actually have launch titles instead of being in limbo (ala Xbox 360).

As far as I know Nintendo is in the exactly same boat right now after E3 that may be different, but as of right now its the same thing. We have no release date for Nintendo, no screenshots of games, no developer talk, and absolutely no actual gameplay reviews from people. I'm not impressed with their gimmick controller they better do more than that to get my dollar.

[Jon @ Mar 7th 2006 11:05AM]

The 360 is much easier to aquire than it used to be. Have you guys not heard the report last week that the 360 is possibly ahead of schedule on console sales and that MS is in line to meet it's 10 - 12 Million units sold by the end of this year?

Whether you fanboys want to admit or not...the 360 is selling well...for pete's sake...it's selling out! The demand is huge...thus the shortages. 3 months after launch and the 360 has an amazing lineup...Fight Night Round 3, Ghost Recon Advanced War Fighter and Burnout are out today...in the next 3 weeks we'll see The Outfit, Oblivion, Far Cry....and next month BattleField 2.

All of these great titles as the 360's availibility is becoming better and better. If you really want a 360 today you can get one...which you couldn't say a few months ago.

Sony didn't even show any playable games at their own conference last month! If they don't show anything playable at E3 or a real working console by then...than we've all been had. I was at last year E3...and it was so sad to see all the hype on the internet about the PS3 and then it was a total no-show on the floor...It was all smoke and mirrors.

By Christas 2006 the 360 will have Gears of War, the Lord of the Rings Strategy Game, Splinter Cell, the 07 EA Sports Lineup including Madden. At E3 Halo 3 will be shown along with a bunch of followup titles that were huge on the Xbox...such as Jade Empire 2, the Next Mech Assault, etc...etc.

I don't see how the PS3 has a chance. There is so much hype that it is sure to dissapoint when everyone realizes the console is equal or lesser to the 360.
They haven't even announced an Online plan yet! WTF!!!

I just downloaded a crap load of trailers and The Outfit Demo on my 360!!! And Sony hasn't even announced an online plan yet.

[John Bellone @ Mar 7th 2006 12:28PM]

30>>
The Xbox 360 most definately is selling out (or at least, out of the stock that they are providing) but the problem is there aren't enough games out for it yet. Of all the games that you mentioned there is nothing that is compelling me to go out and buy the Xbox 360. That's the unfortunate thing.

Let's get on to the Sony thing. It is not Sony's fault that there were no games for the PS3 yet. Microsoft "rushed" the Xbox 360 to market (lack of launch titles and lack of units). You may say that the Xbox 360 sold out because of popularity, but the fact is, there were no where near enough units to do a worldwide launch (and thus, forcing the Xbox 360 to sell out). But I have no doubt that it would have sold otherwise. There still are not enough games for the 360, and most people are buying the console just because its the new fad out there.

Sony is not in trouble. Of the games that you mentioned for this holiday season: Gears of War, EA Sports, and Lord of the Rings are all going to be on the Playstation 3. You can bet your dollar that all three of those games (and more) releasing for the Xbox 360 this holiday are going to be *launch titles* for the PS3. So no matter how you look at it, Sony is in a good position because of having backwards compadibilty (something that Microsoft still hasn't patched yet) and a good launch lineup.

As for the online plans, I have a feeling that you're going to get a taste of that at GDC and E3. You need to remember that those are the industry's trade shows, and that's where Sony (and Nintendo) are going to show most of their cards. Sony made the mistake of not rolling out an online solution last time around, but you can bet anything that they are going to go head-on with XBL this time. That includes your movie trailers (with Sony owning several movie outlets) and demos for games as well.

The reason that this system is going to sell is simply because it will sell in several markets as well: Do you see how many 360s are selling in Japan? Not many at all. Call it whatever you like, but I would most definately not write Sony off at all. In fact, I still think they are going to be top dog this time around.

[takeme2heaven @ Mar 7th 2006 2:47PM]

#31 said: "Of the games that you mentioned for this holiday season: Gears of War, EA Sports, and Lord of the Rings are all going to be on the Playstation 3. You can bet your dollar that all three of those games (and more) releasing for the Xbox 360 this holiday are going to be *launch titles* for the PS3."

It is very likely that the EA Sports games will be released on the PS3, in keeping with EA's general policy. I don't know or care about the Lord of the Rings strategy game. However, most important: has Gears of Wars been officially confirmed for the PS3? Last I heard, it had only been confirmed for the X-Box 360 as well as PC. I suppose it might make sense for it to be released on the PS3 as well (Unreal Engine 3.0 is supposed to be multi-platform anyway, and why would Epic leave out one of the major next-gen consoles?) but I wouldn't believe it without official confirmation.

[steve-o @ Mar 7th 2006 4:38PM]

Spring launch window does not mean at the "start" of the spring. Summer officially starts at June 21st so Sony has until then to release PS3 in Japan. I believe U.S. launch may be somewhat delayed, but of course they're not gonna miss all the holiday shoppers. I'd say Thanksgiving holiday is their launch schedule for U.S.

I really look forward to installing Cell version of Linux to make my PS3 a media server.

[Stephen Lang @ Mar 7th 2006 5:32PM]

I don't think Sony is in trouble yet. BUT...they had better make Holiday 2006 for both Japan and USA. Even if there aren't enough units, like the XBox360 launch.

Launching 2 holidays after Microsoft is pretty bad. Especially as the longer Sony waits, the bigger the chance that Microsoft will drop the 360 price, which will put Sony in a tough spot with Blu-Ray.

I think Microsoft would've launched later themselves, but strategically launched earlier because they knew Sony would have a hard time matching, especially with a new tech like Blu-Ray keeping costs up for Sony.

If Microsoft cuts prices say $50 by the time Sony launches, what will Sony launch the PS3 at? If their costs are as high as reported ($700 and up), they will need to do a really, really good job to keep it all together and overtake 360 sales. Not saying it can't be done, just saying they really have their work cut out for them.

[Iriwn @ Mar 9th 2006 6:13PM]

Lets get this straight:Gears of War will NOT be comming to the PS3. UT2007 WILL be comming to the PS3. I hope I'm not wrong because that's what I read...
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/unrealtournament2007/preview_6145208.html

[SuperDinoYoshi @ Mar 9th 2006 8:47PM]

Being more Nintendo fanboyish than anything else, im gonna have to say something in my clear view of the 360vsPS3... Sony is getting screwed. I dont know what everyone across the world things, but around here in my town, everyone is trying to get a 360, the PS3 isn't even around yet, and it might as well not come if Sony is expecting something to be as successful as the PS2. Let me clarify, 360 > PS3. Sorry Fanboys of all types, but the year headstart, and what will be a very expensive consol will out-do what a few losers on a message board will do.

[takeme2heaven @ Mar 10th 2006 2:09AM]

#35 said: "Lets get this straight:Gears of War will NOT be comming to the PS3. UT2007 WILL be comming to the PS3."

I thought as much. It doesn't make sense to me to leave out the PS3 when it's going to be coming to PC, but I'm not privy to Epic's decision-making process (curses!).

[fiveyearold @ Mar 10th 2006 6:37PM]

I can't beleive all you guys are so blind to the facts. Sony had no idea that the 360 was going to be so powerful after they saw what it had and it was back to the drawing board. Sony is so full of itself they claim the next generation of gaming doesn't start until they come out but they also said that the PS2 would have shrek like graphics.lies. The the PSP would have ps2 Graphics. lies. PS3 all smoke and mirrors.

[Todd Lokken @ Mar 20th 2006 12:51PM]

If anything, Sony has really put pressure on itself now to make the holidays with this thing.