Sony boss Sir Howard Stringer has been interviewed by Variety magazine, and after it has got all the important stuff out of the way, it turns to the PlayStation 3:
Sony's new PlayStation 3 was widely expected to be introduced this spring, but will be delayed as the company fine-tunes the chips that are crucial to the success of the console's Blu-ray function.
The PlayStation 3 --- which is being called "the poor man's Blue-ray" --- is vital to Sony's plans because it plays Blu-ray discs as well as videogames.
Sony will roll out the PS3 by year end, in time for the holidays. If PS3 "delivers what everyone thinks it will, the game is up," Stringer boasts.
The question is, if Stringer actually said that, did he mean Christmas in North America, which is where Variety's readers live, or Christmas in Japan? If he means Christmas in North America, then he's not officially announcing another delay to the PlayStation 3.
However, yesterday The Inquirer reported that "Taiwanese manufacturer COMPEQ has announced that it has been given orders from Sony to produce circuit boards for the PS3."
The company did not say when it was planning to start manufacturing the boards, but a Chinese website, Mydrivers, says it has a deep throat in the company who said that things have to be underway by June or July.
This will put the PS3 on track for delivery at the end of the year, just in time for Crimbo.
Maybe, but Sony could plan on making its own PCBs before that. Either way, as Bloomberg reported yesterday, the mighty Bandai no longer believes what Sony is saying:
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."
So the PS3 schedule that I've been suggesting for the past six months or so -- Japan in spring, US in late November, UK in 2007 -- may turn out to be too optimistic. If you want to buy a PS3 here, figure on waiting at least a year. If it turns out to be longer, don't be too surprised.
See also: Sony's PS3 release date in question
Update: GamesIndustry.biz says: "Information from a number of independent sources is suggesting that Sony may announce further details of its plans for PlayStation 3 next week in Tokyo, with the revised launch schedule for the console being at the top of the agenda." The date is March 15.
