Over on the Technology blog, Jack Schofield has linked to a Forbes.com report, which questions the current PS3 launch plans. The story suggests that the low-profile showing of PS3 at the recent Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, speaks volumes about the company's readiness to meets its sketchy deadline for a Spring Japanese launch:
"Although Sony had a prominent location on the showroom floor at the annual convention, the company showcased televisions and portable music players, while the PlayStation 3 was tucked behind glass in the back of its booth. Sony offered only non-playable, demonstration versions of a limited number of games."
The article suggests that Sony faces a 'manufacturing challenge' since its employment of the high-tech Cell processor and Blu-Ray disc formats. It could be that the company will be unable to produce enough of these key components in time to get plenty of PS3 units on the shelves by Spring. According to the report "Another analyst, Evan Wilson of Pacific Crest Securities, said 'the most likely scenario' is that PS3 will be released in Japan this summer with about 1 million units and in the US in November with 1 million units, followed by a European launch in March 2007."
Ah, it's that old trade off - the need to launch as early as possible in order to get into the market, against the need to produce enough units to meet demand. Sony, naturally, is not commenting, but when Chief Executive Howard Stringer chose to talk about other areas of the company's business in his CES keynote speech - a platform on which you'd expect a fullscale PS3 hype attack (especially as videogames are easily the most profitable area of Sony's consumer business) - rumours of a delay are bound to propagate.
Or this could just be a smokescreen, designed to lull Microsoft into a false sense of security. Perhaps if Bill Gates and co believe they have another six months of next-gen monopoly they might relax and put off releasing, you know, some truly Triple A titles...
At least Sony has PSP to fiddle with, and it can still rely on its old war horse, the PS2, which has plenty of decent releases left in it - rare for the final year of an ageing platform. Usually, it's all Disney platformers and Barbie horse riding sims by now.
