Sony confirms plans to launch PS3 in Spring 2006 (U.S.)

[jvd]

I agree that Sony can't let MS have a whole year in the US to themselves. It's one thing to let X360 launch with some decent games like PDZ, Kameo, PGR3, Madden 360, etc... and quite another to let the likes of Halo 3 and Gears of War hit the market before the PS3 is even out.

Still though its just not a good time to bring it out . If they bring out a system with sub par games the gamers will know it and they will get ragged .The hardcore gamers will buy it no matter what . But the others will pass it up . You will have pdz which could be as big as halo 1 , you got a ton of other intresting games , you have gears of war hitting in march and ms already said they have halo 3 ready for the ps3 launch.

I think the best move for sony is holiday 2006 . They can come out with a very strong launch and not get over shadowed .

 

[Johnny Awesome]

We agree on a lot jvd, but not this time.

 

[jvd]

hey don't agree with me thats fine . If they do launch in march or around then we will see who is right .

 

[mckmas8808]

If they do launch in march or around then we will see who is right .

Man who do you work for? Hey in the heck do you know will launch for the PS3? You and nobody else does know, so how can we say that the PS3 launch will suck if it comes out in the Spring. How do you know that the X360 launch will be great.

To me thinking the the combonation of X360's launch being great, while a PS3 launch in Spring 2006 will be bad shows pure fanboiism. We don't know!!

 

[jvd]

Man who do you work for? Hey in the heck do you know will launch for the PS3? You and nobody else does know, so how can we say that the PS3 launch will suck if it comes out in the Spring. How do you know that the X360 launch will be great.

everyone here has voiced thier opinions . Why aren't you asking them how they know this or how they know that ?

To me thinking the the combonation of X360's launch being great, while a PS3 launch in Spring 2006 will be bad shows pure fanboiism. We don't know!!

THe only fanboy i see is you. I'm using the launch history of sonys products and seeing that the only system they have launched so far in the usa in the time frame in question ahs failed to sell out .

I'm also looking at the fact that every new system in recent memory , xbox , gamecube , ps2 ... launching in and around x mass in the states sell out .

That is what I'm looking at . If you have problems with my conclusions , debates or info then let debate them . Don't throw around fanboy when you have nothing to counter them with

 

[scooby_dooby]

Sony won't launch without some great games. I know that they can't just put out a system with 2 good games and beat MS. Sony is smarter than some people here are giving them credit for.

Sony's VERY smart. That's exactly why everyone here is saying they won't launch in March. It would be a very dumb move to launch late and not have at least a few AAA titles.

Based on the E3 demo Sony doesn't have much lined up for March 05. Take a look at the awars for E3, PS3 didn't win a single award for any game, because they had no real games.

How can they have multiple AAA titles in less than 10 months if they can't even demo 1 playable game? Think about it.

They'll wait for x-mas 06, and try and make a huge splash, hype the hell out of it, promote their exclusives(in the end, exlusives sell the most systems) and try and take back the market. But MS will be pumpin out the exclusives too, and already have ~100games. With developers like Epic, Bioware, Mistwalker and Bungie in MSG Studios, it's gonna be a battle.

 

[mckmas8808]

Based on the E3 demo Sony doesn't have much lined up for March 05. Take a look at the awars for E3, PS3 didn't win a single award for any game, because they had no real games.

How can they have multiple AAA titles in less than 10 months if they can't even demo 1 playable game? Think about it.

They'll wait for x-mas 06, and try and make a huge splash, hype the hell out of it, promote their exclusives and try and take back the market. But MS will be pumpin out the exclusives too, and already have ~100games. It's gonna be a battle.

Its still early guys. Lets wait till TGS to see what they could or could not have by Spring 2006. You forget that Spring 2006 could mean a May or June release. Isn't TGS in September? To me if TGS is in September and the PS3 launches in May that would be a 7 to 8 month timeframe to finish the game.

Right now what we seen at E3 those games have about 5 more months to be finished. You can't compare what X360 had as far as playable to what the PS3 had.

How can they have multiple AAA titles in less than 10 months if they can't even demo 1 playable game? Think about it.

Could have MS showed more than 1 playable demo game in November on 2004. Probably not, just think about it in realistic terms. The PS3 is coming out later.

 

[Agisthos]

If Sony really has a US launch in the first half of 2006 it will be a move of desperation. They don't need to do that, but stranger things have happened.

 

[mckmas8808]

If Sony really has a US launch in the first half of 2006 it will be a move of desperation.

I would say less of a desperation, but more of a motivation. If they sell in the US this Spring that shows me that they respect MS and understand what company they are up against. I don't see the PS3 will be shipped with nothing that we want to play. But TGS should show a better picture.

 

[mckmas8808]

I'm using the launch history of sonys products and seeing that the only system they have launched so far in the usa in the time frame in question ahs failed to sell out .

I'm also looking at the fact that every new system in recent memory , xbox , gamecube , ps2 ... launching in and around x mass in the states sell out .

Oh but did we forget that the PSP had far more units to sell than the PS2, Xbox, and GC. One million units in March is hard to sell out. Yet they did get somewhat close. For a company to release its first system to go on to sell 3 million units in roughly 3 months is damn great.

Don't you understand how quickly gamers will ditch a console and move to another? People forget man, the casual gamer that makes up most of the market just wants the coolest system, that basically comes down to games.

Well good thing for Sony that the gamer hasn't moved from their console in the last 10 years. 190 million units in two generations is a lot more than the 160 million units that Nintendo has sold with every console system that they have developed. I think people's memory is a little better than you give them credit for.

 

[jvd]

Oh but did we forget that the PSP had far more units to sell than the PS2, Xbox, and GC. One million units in March is hard to sell out. Yet they did get somewhat close. For a company to release its first system to go on to sell 3 million units in roughly 3 months is damn great.

thats 3 million in two markets in more than 3 months .

Secondly it still failed to sell out by a 200k unit diffrence. Which i still not buying it was more units than the ps2 , xbox and gc had on north american launch. It had 700kish units if i recal correctly .

Well good thing for Sony that the gamer hasn't moved from their console in the last 10 years. 190 million units in two generations is a lot more than the 160 million units that Nintendo has sold with every console system that they have developed. I think people's memory is a little better than you give them credit for.

To bad gamers moved from nintendo to sony and can easily do it again .

Rushing the launch will only hurt them. Launching in a dead zone for market sales is suicided imo . Its a horrible time to launch and is not the buying season in the u.s market . Actually its the time people are in savings mode having just spent alot of money from the holidays .

 

[mckmas8808]

Rushing the launch will only hurt them. Launching in a dead zone for market sales is suicided imo . Its a horrible time to launch and is not the buying season in the u.s market . Actually its the time people are in savings mode having just spent alot of money from the holidays

So according to you the Sony should have waited until Fall of 2005 to sell the PSP right? Well about 1.5 million in the U.S. in a matter of 1 month to me says other wise. I don't think it was suicide for Sony to launch the PSP in March of this year do you?

thats 3 million in two markets in more than 3 months .

Well when those numbers were release it was only in the U.S. for about 4 to 6 weeks.

To bad gamers moved from nintendo to sony and can easily do it again .

Nintendo has been losing their fanbase way before Sony got into the console business. And they are still losing their fanbase. Hell MS has slightly beat them in their first try at the console business, so what does that tell you about Nintendo.

It tells me that Nintendo might be lucky to hit 20 million consoles with the NR. If Nintendo hits 15 million honestly I will be surprised and shocked. My eyes will be like this --> . Just look at the chart and notice Nintendo's fall in the console sector. I think next-gen Nintendo will focus more on their handheld market to fight off the PSP.

They won't let Sony to take the handheld sector as fast as they did the consoles imho.

 

[jvd]

So according to you the Sony should have waited until Fall of 2005 to sell the PSP right? Well about 1.5 million in the U.S. in a matter of 1 month to me says other wise. I don't think it was suicide for Sony to launch the PSP in March of this year do you?

yup they should have

They shiped 1 million units for launch . 600k sold the first week the rest 400k were sitting on store shelves that is a far cry from selling out . Which was over 2 months ago. I have yet to see any new press confrences or numbers from sony since then in the usa market .

Well when those numbers were release it was only in the U.S. for about 4 to 6 weeks.

I don't know where u got those numbers from for the usa .

The market release of the PlayStation Portable (PSP) in December 2004 had little impact on FY2004 results. Sony revealed that PSP shipments were 2.97 million units as of the end of March 2005. Of the 2.97 million units, the Japanese market accounted for 1.44 million units and the US market constituted 1.53 million units

These numbers were shipped not sold and we already know they had 400k of a million sitting on shelves .

Nintendo has been losing their fanbase way before Sony got into the console business. And they are still losing their fanbase. Hell MS has slightly beat them in their first try at the console business, so what does that tell you about Nintendo.

Great , but there is ms out there now not just nintendo and its ms that sony has to be worried about

It tells me that Nintendo might be lucky to hit 20 million consoles with the NR. If Nintendo hits 15 million honestly I will be surprised and shocked. My eyes will be like this --> . Just look at the chart and notice Nintendo's fall in the console sector. I think next-gen Nintendo will focus more on their handheld market to fight off the PSP.

you'd be surprised how many people out there would want to buy a rev and be able to download legaly all the agmes they played growing up .


Regardless ms can take the market from sony just as sony took the market from nintendo. Messing up a launch is a sure fire way to get the momentum in ms's favor .

 

[JasonLD]

Regardless ms can take the market from sony just as sony took the market from nintendo. Messing up a launch is a sure fire way to get the momentum in ms's favor .

Sounds more like u actually want MS to take market away from Sony lol...Sony taking market from Nintendo was bad enough...MS taking over console market? Oh my..

Besides...It is way to early to tell right now..we had absolutely no info about Xbox360 games until recently, so we will probably see some PS3 game info in about 4-5 months...(TGS?) There are so many developers commited to PS3 already..assuming Xbox360 will have great launch and PS3(If it launches on Spring 06) will not is way too premature..

 

[jvd]

No i want an even split between the 3 companys but since that isn't going to happen i want ms to get as close to sony as possible and nintendo to gain back some market sales .

 

[JasonLD]

No i want an even split between the 3 companys but since that isn't going to happen i want ms to get as close to sony as possible and nintendo to gain back some market sales .

I think those 3 companies will be around for at least several generations (Little skeptical about Nintendo but they always found way to make money) so I wouldn't worry lol..

I think it really depends on How Xbox360 does in Japanese market, it will decides if it will be a close battle or not...If Xbox360 fails in Japanese market again...then PS3 will again have considerable lead..

 

[jvd]

na if ms cna keep it close or win in the e.u and usa they can take a very sizable market .

 

[Shifty Geezer]

I'm generally avoiding discussions on this forum as things have gone pretty downhill of late. Lots of cyclic argument going nowhere. But this thread has me poking my head out of the woodwork just to raise some points.

mckmas8808 : first you say Sony sold millions, they're big, they're powerful, and then show Nintendo in the same spot having lost it all! Where Sony are now doesn't mean they can't make a hash of it. For those that say Sony's clever, they've managed plenty of dumb things in the past. BetaMAX failed. MD didn't really take off. PSP is still looking rough round the edges, with Sony's own video encoder software being totally pants. There is NO 'God' company out there. They can all make mistakes and fumble.

Regards a March launch, it is possible.

People questioning availability of finalised hardware, it isn't needed. Games development is on Linux, PPC ISA, nVidia GPU's running OpenGL. Common interfaces. First gen games will just be running off the PPE I guess. Nothing spectacular in terms of console performance, but at least visually, leaps and bounds ahead of this gen. Heavenly Sword for example is PPE only. UE3 so far is PPE only.
So Sony doesn't need to finalise hardware months before release to enable devs to code for the system. They can add features in the last minute - they just won't be used straight off the bat. First gen games will just use the standard APIs. Finalised hardware shouldn't matter.

If given a choice between a March release or a September release, March probably makes more sense. With less demnd they can gradually stockpile while still building up a user base. If sales are weak (250,000 a month) that's still 1.5 million Sony will have up on a September release, 1.5 million Software consumers. The quicker you get growing, the better. They'll always be one Christmas behind XB360 in sales whenever they launch - why make it an extra 6-8 months behind 360 if you have the hardware ready?

If they have a naff line-up it could hurt, but I don't see that happening. We've already seen UE3 running. There'll be games comparable to XB360s in terms of visuals and content if both launch in a similar time-frame. I expect both to receive a large share of ports, as devs tie in new content with the PC market to maximise software sales. Next-gen consoles will be too small to begin with.

As such I think as others here have said (Laa-Yosh!) it's better for Sony to make an early appearance with nothing groundbreaking, the PlayStation name, and next-gen graphics comparable side-by-side with XB360, to disrupt 360s momentum, then to launch a year after. A year of accumlating interest in 360 would NEED an earth-shattering launch from Sony to knock the wind out of that momentum.

The only other real option is the stalling one. Promise March, and keep pushing back. I don't think that'll work anywhere other than Europe (where it's the norm). eg. PSP in EU was delayed to supply the Japanese, US and Korean markets. I imagine a March release is US only woulc be the smartest tactical release Sony could do. Well, it will work because everyong will wait, but they'll get angry!

Regards killer apps, that's not needed until you're going head to head in the high-sales seasons. Those that want Halo 3 will get XB360 regardless of what Sony do. Those that want GT5 won't get XB360. Killer apps drive a strong launch, but that might go against Sony's wishes, especially if they have limited production. Better instead to have slow sales, stockpile, then release the killer apps against MS's at Christmas trying to win favour, knowing there's a hardware base to support the games too.

Regards MS marketting XB360 like stink, they made a pretty has job of marketting XB (at least in the EU from what I remember) and their showing so far has been weak. They don't seem as good at pushing consoles as they re at pushing OSs!

And finally, Sony may have a 'trump card' if they've got really good backwards compatibility. This is an unknown, but if you can play PS2 games enhanced like they managed with PS emulation, say AA and aniso filtering, PS3 will appeal to the existing PS2 users by offering their current games a new lease of life - no frame drops and better IQ - until the decent software comes around. I think that could be one of PS3's key strengths if they can manage it (but that might be really hard as PS2 games are written to the metal)

 

[Johnny Awesome]

I agree. Sony doesn't need KILLER titles to launch. Just something OK for hardcore fans to play as they ramp up production on hardware and better games. This is way more effective than letting MS hit the market for a whole year before they do.

 

[dukmahsik]

Sorry but I just don't see this happening in spring for a few reasons:

1) blu ray drive isn't even avail at 2x speed yet and they promised 6x

2) rsx not done

3) will be too expensive to manufacture