Link:
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2116&Itemid=2
Excerpt-
"Another juicy rumor - wholly unconfirmed - is that Japan will not see the launch of PS3 until very late this year. Our sources were unable to make the connection about whether this means the U.S. launch will come at the same time, even later, or, just maybe, much earlier. This is where, unfortunately, we are left to speculate.
What if it's earlier?
The theory goes that Sony's play is not for the next generation games market at all. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is no more than an irritating diversion. The big play is for the high definition DVD market, and in this context, an early launch, with small hardware numbers and threadbare games software support might just be a good move.
This play potentially represents Sony's most important move in its entire history. Imagine; a royalty for Sony on every single DVD sold between 2006 and 2012 or thereabouts. No wonder Bill Gates hates Blu-ray.
The next generation DVD market is much, much bigger than the next generation games market. Owning the high definition DVD platform through Blu-Ray is Sony's number one priority for the next two years. Coming first in the next generation games market tags along for the ride.
The enemy is Toshiba
This spring, Toshiba will launch HD-DVD. Small numbers of ultra-high early adopters will be asked to pay up to $800 for the machine. But they will be nervous about making that commitment, if they see that Blu-ray is already available at a lower price, backed by Sony, albeit in savagely small numbers.
Here is where the first scuffles over the future of home entertainment will take place. It's important to draw first blood.
That's reason one. Reason two is Hollywood. This fall, the studios will be making a call on which formats to back. If Sony says, "We're launching PS3 at Thanksgiving with a million units," Hollywood will say, "Okay, great."
But Sony might be in a position to say, "We launched PS3 earlier this year, and they're still lining up around the block. We've sold 300,000 units, and we're now shifting 30,000 a week. We plan to sell another million over the holidays. Blu-ray is here." Many of the studios have made verbal commitments to Blu-ray, but that's a long way short of backing the platform with the high definition DVD versions of its summer movies.
Hollywood does not want a split format. It will do as much as it can to avoid this scenario. What it needs to see are numbers.
Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities says, "A lot of people in the games media are missing the picture here. This isn't about Sony versus Microsoft. This is about Sony versus Toshiba. Everything Sony does regarding PlayStation 3 is colored by that fact."
I think they are close to the truth in the article. I think I have made another connection that may be spot on. The HD standards and formats for NA and Japan are the same, along with little or no region locking/encoding...meaning hw and sw are interchangle pieces of this puzzle for Sony. They need to get PS3 out the door to fight Toshiba in the NA market...but don't want to disgrace their homemarket. I think they will have a staggered launch like before...but I think that they will launch late spring/early summer in NA and Japan simultaneously...and later in the year (Q4) in Europe, etc.
This would be their move...and seems like it would just make the most sense, fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together.
Feb. suprise can't come soon enough.
http://www.next-gen.biz/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=2116&Itemid=2
Excerpt-
"Another juicy rumor - wholly unconfirmed - is that Japan will not see the launch of PS3 until very late this year. Our sources were unable to make the connection about whether this means the U.S. launch will come at the same time, even later, or, just maybe, much earlier. This is where, unfortunately, we are left to speculate.
What if it's earlier?
The theory goes that Sony's play is not for the next generation games market at all. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is no more than an irritating diversion. The big play is for the high definition DVD market, and in this context, an early launch, with small hardware numbers and threadbare games software support might just be a good move.
This play potentially represents Sony's most important move in its entire history. Imagine; a royalty for Sony on every single DVD sold between 2006 and 2012 or thereabouts. No wonder Bill Gates hates Blu-ray.
The next generation DVD market is much, much bigger than the next generation games market. Owning the high definition DVD platform through Blu-Ray is Sony's number one priority for the next two years. Coming first in the next generation games market tags along for the ride.
The enemy is Toshiba
This spring, Toshiba will launch HD-DVD. Small numbers of ultra-high early adopters will be asked to pay up to $800 for the machine. But they will be nervous about making that commitment, if they see that Blu-ray is already available at a lower price, backed by Sony, albeit in savagely small numbers.
Here is where the first scuffles over the future of home entertainment will take place. It's important to draw first blood.
That's reason one. Reason two is Hollywood. This fall, the studios will be making a call on which formats to back. If Sony says, "We're launching PS3 at Thanksgiving with a million units," Hollywood will say, "Okay, great."
But Sony might be in a position to say, "We launched PS3 earlier this year, and they're still lining up around the block. We've sold 300,000 units, and we're now shifting 30,000 a week. We plan to sell another million over the holidays. Blu-ray is here." Many of the studios have made verbal commitments to Blu-ray, but that's a long way short of backing the platform with the high definition DVD versions of its summer movies.
Hollywood does not want a split format. It will do as much as it can to avoid this scenario. What it needs to see are numbers.
Michael Pachter, analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities says, "A lot of people in the games media are missing the picture here. This isn't about Sony versus Microsoft. This is about Sony versus Toshiba. Everything Sony does regarding PlayStation 3 is colored by that fact."
I think they are close to the truth in the article. I think I have made another connection that may be spot on. The HD standards and formats for NA and Japan are the same, along with little or no region locking/encoding...meaning hw and sw are interchangle pieces of this puzzle for Sony. They need to get PS3 out the door to fight Toshiba in the NA market...but don't want to disgrace their homemarket. I think they will have a staggered launch like before...but I think that they will launch late spring/early summer in NA and Japan simultaneously...and later in the year (Q4) in Europe, etc.
This would be their move...and seems like it would just make the most sense, fitting all the pieces of the puzzle together.
Feb. suprise can't come soon enough.
