Namco Bandai President Says Sony PS3 Spring Start `Impossible'

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http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=10000080&sid=aXWe_tSEBpyE
March 8 (Bloomberg) -- Namco Bandai Holdings Inc. President Takeo Takasu said it was ``impossible'' for Sony Corp. to start sales of the PlayStation 3 game console in spring as scheduled, which may delay a recovery in the software industry.

``Without any announcements so far, the spring release is impossible,'' Takasu said yesterday in an interview in Tokyo. ``We are developing titles for PlayStation 3, but the release of the games depends on the timing of the hardware.''
``Nothing has changed with our plans'' for the launch of the PS3, said Nanako Kato, a spokeswoman at Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., the company's games division. Sony said it's still aiming for a launch in ``spring.''
 
haha this is very interesting.Sony seems very determined for a spring launch but we heard almost nothing for the PS3 compared to X360 4 months before its launch.

We ve heard nothing about a game reaching completion, there are still countless of uncertain discussions about specs, developers are STILL under strict NDA, PS3 news are scarce, we have no idea if devs still have final kits etc etc but Sony seem sure they will manage to release it in spring.

Actually this makes you wonder if they are hiding something huge we dont know about.But shouldnt they try to "advertise" their console since its only a few months away from spring launch?They are still as tight lipped as they were 6 months( or even more) ago
 
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bloomberg article said:
"Nothing has changed with our plans" for the launch of the PS3, said Nanako Kato, a spokeswoman at Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., the company's games division. Sony said it's still aiming for a launch in "spring."
After all of the speculations & rumours, SONY are still sticking to their "Spring" launch. Personally, I'm happy to hold onto to this as fact until SONY say otherwise.

I mean, are they really that STOOOPID to keep saying "spring" launch, knowing that they can't meet it? Or are they waiting until Spring officially passes by, before they come out and say "Oops, looks like it's gonna have to be Summer. Guess we screwed that one up, aye? Sorry e'ryone...!" :p
 
While some people count down the days of spring. I'm gonna be playing some good xbox360 games and then pick up a ps3 when it launches..... IN THE FALL :)
 
Whether this Namco Bandai guy is right or not, I don't know. That the president of a developer would make this comment is the interesting part. Just how much do Sony's 3rd parties know?
 
Come on. NOBODY believes Sony about this.

Nobody. It's not launching in Spring. That nearing three months away. What game is "done"?

And if you dont speak Japanese (looking at you Bronx) your chances are double nil.
 
They're launching in spring, but without any games.
Only Blu-ray movies, Fifth Element, xXx, House Of The Flying Daggers etc.
It's be the first console launch without any games :D
bRoNx said:
After all of the speculations & rumours, SONY are still sticking to their "Spring" launch. Personally, I'm happy to hold onto to this as fact until SONY say otherwise.

I mean, are they really that STOOOPID to keep saying "spring" launch, knowing that they can't meet it? Or are they waiting until Spring officially passes by, before they come out and say "Oops, looks like it's gonna have to be Summer. Guess we screwed that one up, aye? Sorry e'ryone...!" :p
They pretty much did this very thing with the EU launch of PSP.
They kept on telling the PSP would launch in "spring" 2005 in EU, until after spring had gone and went, they kept mum over the summer months, keeping us waiting until closer to the September '05 launch.
 
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That would be quite strange to release in spring with no games considering one of the likely reasons why PS3 will be delayed is due to BR and HDMI v1.3 etc.
 
The first Blu-ray movies have been announced to release in May, along with the first BLu-ray player by Samsung.
The Samsung player should have all the needed connections.

This HDMI 1.3. Why is it needed wit Blu-ray again?
Why isn't the current HDMI compatible? Because of 1080p?
If I was to buy a current model TV or projector that has a HDMI connector, it would be 1.2 version, right? Would I not be able to use my PS3 with my current display device with HDMI 1.2, even with 720p?
I'm asking because I don't know, not because I guestion the validity of.
 
Pozer said:
While some people count down the days of spring. I'm gonna be playing some good xbox360 games and then pick up a ps3 when it launches..... IN THE FALL :)
Exactly....YOU are going to be playing.

Hell I dont even have the cash to spend games for my PS2.Let alone to spend for a brand new 360 and games :p

I hope PS3 ends up being 1000% better than 360 so you would eat your hat out for making fan of us :mrgreen:
 
The first Blu-ray movies have been announced to release in May, along with the first BLu-ray player by Samsung.
The Samsung player should have all the needed connections.

So PS3 is secretely a Samsung BR player in disguise releasing in May?

HDMI v1.3 allows the transport of copy protected uncompressed multichannel DTS-HD Master Lossless and Dolby TrueHD to your receiver digitally.
 
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NANOTEC said:
So PS3 is secretely a Samsung BR player in disguise releasing in May?

HDMI v1.3 allows the transport of copy protected uncompressed multichannel DTS-HD Master Lossless and Dolby TrueHD to your receiver digitally.
Obviously no, but will the Samsung player also be delayed because of the same things you expect PS3 to be delayed?

Will you still be able to transfer the lossless formats to your AV receiver via S/PDIF?
If so, is it possible that PS3 could release without HDMI1.3.
That would suck to those who wish to use just one cable, but at worst it would be just a minor inconvenience.
And considering there are no receivers supporting HDMI1.3, not ones that support those lossless audio formats at market yet, actually I think no manufacturer has yet even announced a date for one to be available, you wouldn't even need it yet.

PS3 will be an entry level Blu-ray player, so is it not possible it will ship with stripped features, like no support of lossless audio via HDMI, only via optical out?
 
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How can devs cope with unclear launch times? They bidget for a release and sales, and then may find it's another 6 months before they get to sell any of that software they've been spending years writing. That sucks! It's times like these you'll be glad to be a 1st party dev!
 
Shifty Geezer said:
How can devs cope with unclear launch times?

Although they can always use more devtime, I was wondering the same thing.

This could sure upset some publishers or make devs think twice about the target platform...
 
Honestly though, there isn't a single reason to release in spring. First off, game sales slow down around summer since people go to movies instead. Also, what the hell is the occasion....
 
rabidrabbit said:
Will you still be able to transfer the lossless formats to your AV receiver via S/PDIF?
If so, is it possible that PS3 could release without HDMI1.3.?
I really don't know, hopefully someone here can give an answer to that excellent question, which I think could hold a clue to the possible launch or delay of PS3.
 
Xbot360 said:
Come on. NOBODY believes Sony about this.

Nobody. It's not launching in Spring. That nearing three months away. What game is "done"?

And if you dont speak Japanese (looking at you Bronx) your chances are double nil.
Ogenki desu ka. (sp?) That's all the Japanese I've got...from back in high school! But I trust ONE will notify us of any significant progress in this matter...whether it be in Japanese, English or Swahilian!

Anyways, is this priviledged information i.e. under NDA? 'Cause if it weren't, then surely other developers/publishing houses like EA can just come out and put this whole matter to sleep by saying yay or nay. But I don't think they're either allowed or they even know when SONY's launching the PS3 right now.

So basically, you can add his comments to the "PS3 to miss the Spring launch" speculation pile, and wait for something from the horses' mouth (which will probably be..."No comment"!). Failing that, we can always go looking for that guy that got himself fired by SONY for blabbering off on the net. Surely he's got some info on this! :cool:
 
will the Samsung player also be delayed because of the same things you expect PS3 to be delayed?

The Samsung player won't likely be delayed because Samsung will just release another player with updated and improved features and different pricing. Also the Samsung will likely have multichannel analog outputs so it would still be able to transfer uncompressed audio to a receiver.

Will you still be able to transfer the lossless formats to your AV receiver via S/PDIF?

Nope

And considering there are no receivers supporting HDMI1.3, not ones that support those lossless audio formats at market yet, actually I think no manufacturer has yet even announced a date for one to be available, you wouldn't even need it yet.

The receivers do not need to support those formats because the receivers don't need to decode them. The players will do the decoding initially so you can enjoy those formats without having to buy a new receiver or wait for them.

PS3 will be an entry level Blu-ray player, so is it not possible it will ship with stripped features, like no support of lossless audio via HDMI, only via optical out?

No lossless through coaxial or optical, only through multichannel analog and/or HDMI v1.3. Of course SONY could release some kind of HDMI v1.3 box attachment, but I doubt it because the whole copy protection pipeline needs to be secure and sticking a HDMI box to PS3 with some ductape isn't gonna cut it.
 
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