CES Fallout: Sony expected to herald "next gen 1.5"
Tactical delay – reposition believed to be underway
As the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas closes its gates, speculation as to why Sony refused to make any significant mention of its PlayStation 3 leads most event-dissection conversations. It was thought that the gaming giant would use the event as a platform to add meat to its proposed program for spring 2006 launch, though as you'll be aware, just hours before the show it was clear this would not be the case.
The seeming reluctance to show the PlayStation 3 saw some wild speculation, with Internet fakers successfully duping some sites into believing that Sony next-generation is floundering – with SCE unable to lock down hardware specifics and developers failing to cope with the 4,000 or so SDKs already shipped.
According to several gaming executives and developers we spoke with, this is simply not the case, in fact it is easy to develop for. It is widely believed that, rather than pressure itself into an early launch – likely riddled with software support, supply and reliability issues – Sony will wait. It will force what was described to us as '...the perception [amongst consumers] of a different generation. Like Next-generation point five.' The idea is simple. It lets Microsoft have its day, sell as many Xbox 360s as it can make and completely distances itself from the machine. It waits a year and then launches with what will be heavily marketed as a generational advancement on anything that has preceded it. In doing so it bides its time, avoids any issues associated with a time-pressured launch and builds a stronger case for consumers to again part with cash for hardware.
We contacted Sony for official clarification on the launch situation for PlayStation 3. Jennie Kong, SCE PR manager responded explaining, “There has been only one official announcement so far which was Spring 2006, as per the E3 presentation.â€
So when should we expect the PlayStation 3 to launch, and what should we expect when it does. Perhaps first of all, it's important to underline what the PlayStation 3 represents. You can safely ignore Microsoft's chatter about “...we're both driving Ferraris...†because it simply isn't true. Well it might be true, if Microsoft sees itself in an F355 and Sony in an Enzo, though that analogy only adds to the belief that we are really boringly obsessed with cars.
The PlayStation 3 will be significantly more powerful that the Xbox 360. It might not do some of the clever things the Xbox 360 does, but it is a more powerful, more capable, more flexible and more dynamic piece of kit. It will, eventually, play better-looking games that its competitor and the Japanese will actually buy it. Even if the case and joypad designs we've seen to date are aesthetically-challenged.
From what we've gathered, the PlayStation 3 will launch in later summer 2006 in Japan, following a significant campaign pressing the connectivity features between the home console and the PSP. Sony will ignore the Xbox 360, relegating to a different, older generation of home console thus justifying your further investment in game-playing machinery.
And history suggests Sony will succeed.
You can read a report on SCE's CES showing here, and a full rundown of Bill Gates' keynote address here.