Lack of Standards Could Delay PS3

Sony says it's still aiming for Spring launch.

A Reuters report from yesterday quoted a Sony representative saying that the company was still waiting for a consortium of industry leaders to decide on the final standard specs for technology used in the PS3, including the Blu-Ray drive. "We're waiting for them until the last possible minute, but the launch could be pushed back if they're not decided soon," said the spokesperson. However, Sony re-confirmed that they are still looking at a Spring launch.

Of course, analysts take the "spring launch" with a double helping of salt. An analyst at KBC Securities noted, "No one is seriously thinking a spring release is realistic any more. If I were Sony, I wouldn't be that worried about releasing as soon as I possibly could." Analysts at Merril Lynch published a report last week predicting delays for the PS3 launch, a report that was quickly denied yesterday by Sony spokesperson Kei Sakaguchi, who told Japanese press, "There is no change in our original plan to release the console in spring 2006."

It's become increasingly tough to penetrate the iron curtain that has descended around Sony's next-gen console. As we reported earlier, game developers have in some instances been working on games without the final specs of the console, and without knowing exactly when the launch is. While studios have internal deadlines of this summer for completion of games, and while some also have been working on PSP games with built-in PS3 connectivity, there is still no information about how Sony's new online service will work.

And then there is the issue of fulfilment. If Sony wants to hit a September launch with a decent number of consoles (say, 600-800k), some industry insiders estimate that they will need to start production and assemby by May, or June at the latest. Production will likely be a bit tricky - the Cell is a beast of a chip, bigger than the Pentium D; the Cell CPU is not a simple design. Also, the Blu-ray drive is going to be a big deal to manufacture, once the standards are decided. How many will Sony be able to produce? And how many can they earmark for the PS3?

There is an SCEE developer conference March 1 and 2 for European developers which this year will focus on the PS3, and it's possible that more information will be leaked to European press after that date. Interestingly, one of the speakers, Mike Kavallierou, comes from Microsoft and has apparently spent two and a half years working on Xbox Live. He must be under some crazy NDAs, but he's a director for Sony's networking team now.

Source: 1Up
posted on Tuesday, February 21, 2006 11:28 PM by Auri

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