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Official: SCEI re-confirms spring PS3 launch

This has become a daily thing now, I see. Sony has to announce a delay relatively soon. Why? Annual shareholder's meeting should be in early-mid April. Most of the time, they lay out full year projections. They're tentative, but they give shareholders something to chew on for the future, usually positive stuff. Since the Spring launch would have to fall within the first quarter of the 2007 fiscal year, they are either forced to give PS3 launch info, or announce a delay.

The thing is, announcing a delay during/after the earnings report (which I believe should show previously unexpected profits) marginalizes the excitement for the good news. A PS3 delay should be announced before the annual meeting, b/c then the news of a profit for the year should allow positive movement in the share price. It's why they tend to announce changes in shipping/earnings projections months ahead of the earnings reports, so they can start new quarters on a more positive note.

Being a relatively expensive device, shipping in large numbers, Sony has to let investors know if there's any reason to expect millions or even billions of dollars missing from the balance sheet in Q1. My opinion is that Sony is launching in May/June in Japan and possibly North America. Sometime around E3 IMO. I base this on all public statements continuously confirming the Spring launch, and the NVidia royalty deal. Nothing is known about the royalty deal, really, but if we assume that they don't collect a dime until a unit is shipped, then there is enough stagger in their earnings reports to allow the PS3 to launch in May/June.

People keep saying they can't launch b/c they have nothing to show. They have nothing to show b/c they have a lot to lose right now. The PS2 and PSP are still going well. The PS2 may be losing steam, but it's still selling at an inflated price most places. They don't have any reason to show anything until it's necessary. The rumor mill is going crazy enough without any of their input. OTOH, if there was absolutely no heat for the system, then you'd see them employing teaser/viral marketing to keep gamers interested. Why buy the cow...and so forth. PEACE.
 
Andokuky said:
Has anyone seen the NPD charts lately? Sony doesn't need PS3 to outsell 360, they're still doing it with the PS2 :lol
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Fo' real though :lol :lol :lol

Ninja Scooter said:
I don't see anything Sony is doing, even if the PS3 gets delayed to 2007, being as big a mistake as what Nintendo did with the N64. Even launcying at 450 won't do much. This isn't 1996 anymore. We're living in a time where millions of people don't mind spending $300-400 for a new Ipod every 18 months, and somehow they are going to balk at $400 for a top of the line, incredibly hyped piece of technology like the PS3 (perception wise)?
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Ooomph!!! Spit that shit Ninja!
fudance4fo.gif
 
Pimpwerx said:
This has become a daily thing now, I see. Sony has to announce a delay relatively soon. Why? Annual shareholder's meeting should be in early-mid April. Most of the time, they lay out full year projections. They're tentative, but they give shareholders something to chew on for the future, usually positive stuff. Since the Spring launch would have to fall within the first quarter of the 2007 fiscal year, they are either forced to give PS3 launch info, or announce a delay.

The thing is, announcing a delay during/after the earnings report (which I believe should show previously unexpected profits) marginalizes the excitement for the good news. A PS3 delay should be announced before the annual meeting, b/c then the news of a profit for the year should allow positive movement in the share price. It's why they tend to announce changes in shipping/earnings projections months ahead of the earnings reports, so they can start new quarters on a more positive note.

Being a relatively expensive device, shipping in large numbers, Sony has to let investors know if there's any reason to expect millions or even billions of dollars missing from the balance sheet in Q1. My opinion is that Sony is launching in May/June in Japan and possibly North America. Sometime around E3 IMO. I base this on all public statements continuously confirming the Spring launch, and the NVidia royalty deal. Nothing is known about the royalty deal, really, but if we assume that they don't collect a dime until a unit is shipped, then there is enough stagger in their earnings reports to allow the PS3 to launch in May/June.

People keep saying they can't launch b/c they have nothing to show. They have nothing to show b/c they have a lot to lose right now. The PS2 and PSP are still going well. The PS2 may be losing steam, but it's still selling at an inflated price most places. They don't have any reason to show anything until it's necessary. The rumor mill is going crazy enough without any of their input. OTOH, if there was absolutely no heat for the system, then you'd see them employing teaser/viral marketing to keep gamers interested. Why buy the cow...and so forth. PEACE.
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all good points. I expect news of a delay to hit anytime now.

it'll be interesting to see what comes out first, PS3 anywhere or Zelda GCN
 
Sony needs to give a firm date for the release.

They can't say 'spring 2006' anymore, it's almost spring. Heck they havent even given the price yet. It just doesn't add up.
 
Barnaby Jones said:
Sony needs to give a firm date for the release.

They can't say 'spring 2006' anymore, it's almost spring. Heck they havent even given the price yet. It just doesn't add up.
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They'll five a firm date when they're ready. They aren't going to rush their system just to please a few people.
 
SolidSnakex said:
They'll five a firm date when they're ready. They aren't going to rush their system just to please a few people.
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Stockholders? The mainstream press? It's a corperation, they have a responsibility to not just their fanbase.
 
Barnaby Jones said:
Stockholders? The mainstream press? It's a corperation, they have a responsibility to not just their fanbase.
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Their fanbase is going to be the one buying the system, which will make thost stockholders happy.
 
DenogginizerOS said:
You have to consider that some who buy the PS3 also own stock.
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Ofcourse. But there was much speculation that the PS2 was rushed at launch which is why the PS2's first couple months were so slow. I doubt Sony or gamers are interested in going through that again. So if they have to position it in a way to make sure they've got a steady flow of games ready for consumers then so be it. I'd rather them launch the system when they felt it was ready. As that'll be much better for everyone that's actually interested in the system.
 
From GameSpot:

In the wake of the report, Sony issued a series of contradictory statements. In Japan, Sony Computer Entertainment spokesman Kei Sakaguchi flatly denied that there would be any delay to Bloomberg News and other press outlets, saying, "there isn't any change in our plan to release the console in spring 2006."

However, a Sony Computer Entertainment America spokeswoman was more cautious when she spoke with USA Today. "We're aiming for spring, but we haven't announced specific regions," she told the daily broadsheet. "We're waiting for [final PS3 specifications] until the last possible minute, but the launch could be pushed back if they're not decided soon."
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Well, that clears that up.
 
Barnaby Jones said:
It clears up that, internally, Sony is still unsure of what move to make.
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Not quite. It simply indicates that SCEI is sticking with Spring as it always has and SCEA has a separate timetable that may or may not change.
 
Barnaby Jones said:
It clears up that, internally, Sony is still unsure of what move to make.
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Well,

SCEI is the one who calls the shots and the one who was likely the target of the Spring launch. SCEA probably never had a shot at the before Oct/Nov launch, but that hadn't been decided as of late last year. From what I've heard, any devs, east or west, will have trouble making June, but there should be a nice slate end of the year.

Not particularly contradictory, but AACS is still only a temporary license and not completely finalized, so that could well be holding things up. Although, from what I understand AACS is required to be firmware updatable, but the starting point is still up in the air I guess.
 
MassiveAttack said:
Not quite. It simply indicates that SCEI is sticking with Spring as it always has and SCEA has a separate timetable that may or may not change.
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I find the remark about announcing spefic regions as interesting. I'm guessing thats some type of de facto response or something? Its pretty much the general consensus that Japan will be the first to get the PS3.
 
sonycowboy said:
Well, Not particularly contradictory, but AACS is still only a temporary license and not completely finalized, so that could well be holding things up. Although, from what I understand AACS is required to be firmware updatable, but the starting point is still up in the air I guess.
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If they want to be taken seriously in the home theater world, even as an entry-level player, they should really support HDMI 1.3 as well. It's the standard for digital audio in the next generation.
 
beermonkey@tehbias said:
If they want to be taken seriously in the home theater world, even as an entry-level player, they should really support HDMI 1.3 as well. It's the standard for digital audio in the next generation.
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They'll support more than ~most first gen players, so I have no concern about that. They have a timetable to stick to and if 1.3 isn't available, they're not going to hold up for that. And the support for digital audio will be outstanding.

However, this whole price / launch date / regions / Blu-Ray thing seems to be reaching a fever pitch and I think Sony may well have to divulge some more specifics VERY SOON. Up to this point, the speculation has been positive for Sony, however, now it's becoming a distraction.
 
beermonkey@tehbias said:
If they want to be taken seriously in the home theater world, even as an entry-level player, they should really support HDMI 1.3 as well. It's the standard for digital audio in the next generation.
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Why, that just answers the nagging question many have had about how Sony will manage to sell the PS3 as a full-featured BD player for hundreds less than the competition - without HDMI 1.3 it'll be practically worthless and they'll be forced to sell it at a bargain basement price to achieve any sales! :p
 
I refuse to believe that the PS3 will be a 'full-featured' BD-player. It's possible, but I don't know... what would be the reason of buying other Sony BluRay players? Unless they recorded BluRays as well...
 
typo said:
I refuse to believe that the PS3 will be a 'full-featured' BD-player. It's possible, but I don't know... what would be the reason of buying other Sony BluRay players? Unless they recorded BluRays as well...
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It won't it will only playblack movies while other players can playback movies aswell burn blu-ray's.
 
kaching said:
Why, that just answers the nagging question many have had about how Sony will manage to sell the PS3 as a full-featured BD player for hundreds less than the competition - without HDMI 1.3 it'll be practically worthless and they'll be forced to sell it at a bargain basement price to achieve any sales! :p
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Indeed. Without HDMI 1.3 we're talking toaster oven status. No way that the public will be so easily duped into spending $400 when they could move up to HDMI 1.3 for only $1000 more.

Warehouse liquidation or New Mexico desert landfills?
 
How much does an HDMI cable cost? Will I need to upgrade my receiver if it does not have an HDMI connection? My TV has HDMI. Thanks.
 
DenogginizerOS said:
How much does an HDMI cable cost? Will I need to upgrade my receiver if it does not have an HDMI connection? My TV has HDMI. Thanks.
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Like most cables, they seem to run the gamut. Anywhere from $10 to $50 or more but since its an all digital signal being passed through the cable, you shouldn't have to splurge to get the best signal like with cables for analog sources.

It's not clear yet whether you'd have to upgrade your receiver to get best audio output through HDMI.
 
Marconelly said:
I actually think, and hope they do. An example of this was their E3 conference last year. Wasn't that much more fun to see and discuss than some slow stream of screenshots and info crawling out month after months?

Also, that's kinda what Apple does, and it works fine. I think it's very nice that they announce things that surprise everyone, and you can buy them really soon after (often even the same day).
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PSP was expected to be mentioned back at E3 2k3, it wasnt released till December 2k4.
Thats over 18 months.
PS3 was expected to be mentioned and shown(even with playables) at E3 2k5 and its release is not yet in sight.

Now do you wanna check up when the DS was first mentioned and when it went for sale or do you get my point?
 
MassiveAttack said:
I've stated what I know (or parts thereof) in the Merrill Lynch PR thread. SCEI is more than capable of pulling off big surprises and has done so on numerous occasions during the last 12 years. After what they did with PSP, I wouldn't bet against them.
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After what they did with PSP?

You main their failed worldwide launch(originally planned for a worldwide fall 2k4 release, Europe instead didnt get it till fall 2k5), the constant delays and the padding of release lists with software third parties never had any intention of developing for PSP?
 
Tenacious-V said:
AACS is done and finalized.

http://www.engadget.com/2006/02/17/aacs-finalized-blu-ray-and-hd-dvd-game-on/

How is AACS only a temp license?
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AACS is not finalized and if you read the body of that engadget article, you will see:

While no setback to a standard is especially preferable (just ask: WiMax, 802.11n, Ultrawideband, etc.), at least Blu-ray and HD DVD, who were quagmired by the AACS forum, whose copy protection standard that they convinced both formats to use, was delayed. Well, delayed it be no longer, as it seems the AACS forum apparently agreed on an interim license late Wednesday night so the two heavy hitters, like prize fighters, can now proceed to knock the crap out of one another in the market. Come February 21st we're supposed to get the official release on this, but we have a feeling it's no coincidence that today's the day Toshiba announced their 40-city HD DVD Retail Store Tour-O-Thon 2006 (official name).
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Read this link for the real details about all this:

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6308373.html


At the 11th hour the AACS-LA issued an interim AACS license to the HD-DVD group and the Blu-ray group so they could launch hardware without any delay......with a March 28th launch, HD-DVD was especially at risk....

The full AACS 1.0 License should be available around June but early hardware can be upgraded to AACS 1.0 via firmware update, so they covered their arses there...


As far as HDMI 1.3 is concerned, the main thing it brings to the table over HDMI 1.2a is the ability to pass encoded Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD to a reciever or processor via HDMI if they have DD+, DTHD or dts-HD decoders.....this bit is not really a big deal because as long as the source device (HD-DVD or BR deck) has HDMI 1.1, 1.2 or 1.2a, it can decode DD+/DTHD/dts-HD internally and pass the audio data to the reciever as uncompressed LPCM via HDMI...in other words, it'll sound the same, but you wont be able to do any advanced DSP audio processing (room correction, Parametric Bass EQ) in the reciever or pre/pro without 1.3 compliance....not a big loss :)

The other thing HDMI 1.3 brings to the table, and the thing Ken K. was intrested in, is 30, 36 and 48-bit color depths.....he stated that he wants PS3 to be HDMI 1.3 compliant at launch but would not delay PS3 if it wasnt ready (his words)...

HDMI 1.3 is currently slated as due "first half of 2006"....
 
Kleegamefan said:
AACS is not finalized and if you read the body of that engadget article, you will see:




Read this link for the real details about all this:

http://www.videobusiness.com/article/CA6308373.html


At the 11th hour the AACS-LA issued an interim AACS license to the HD-DVD group and the Blu-ray group so they could launch hardware without any delay......with a March 28th launch, HD-DVD was especially at risk....

The full AACS 1.0 License should be available around June but early hardware can be upgraded to AACS 1.0 via firmware update, so they covered their arses there...


As far as HDMI 1.3 is concerned, the main thing it brings to the table over HDMI 1.2a is the ability to pass encoded Dolby Digital Plus, Dolby TrueHD and dts-HD to a reciever or processor via HDMI if they have DD+, DTHD or dts-HD decoders.....this bit is not really a big deal because as long as the source device (HD-DVD or BR deck) has HDMI 1.1, 1.2 or 1.2a, it can decode DD+/DTHD/dts-HD internally and pass the audio data to the reciever as uncompressed LPCM via HDMI...

The other thing HDMI 1.3 brings to the table, and the thing Ken K. was intrested in, is 30, 36 and 48-bit color depths.....he stated that he wants PS3 to be HDMI 1.3 compliant at launch but would not delay PS3 if it wasnt ready (his words)...

HDMI 1.3 is currently slated as due "first half of 2006"....
Click to expand...


So it was just a temp go ahead. Engadget's false headlines..... How would they go about updating the firmware of older hardware once the AACS is completely finished? Are the players internet capable, or is it just gonna be on the disc and installed automatically later on?
 
I refuse to believe that the PS3 will be a 'full-featured' BD-player. It's possible, but I don't know... what would be the reason of buying other Sony BluRay players?
Click to expand...

A noisy fan would really hurt the player in the home theater market, but gamers wouldn't care that much.

So it was just a temp go ahead. Engadget's false headlines..... How would they go about updating the firmware of older hardware once the AACS is completely finished? Are the players internet capable, or is it just gonna be on the disc and installed automatically later on?
Click to expand...

They could have movies automatically install the upgrade. Don't want the upgrade? You are stuck playing launch titles.

this bit is not really a big deal because as long as the source device (HD-DVD or BR deck) has HDMI 1.1, 1.2 or 1.2a, it can decode DD+/DTHD/dts-HD internally
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Is it confirmed that this is allowed with Blu-Ray? Since they are replacing SACD with 'Blu-Ray Music Disc', I kind of expected Sony would want the latest protection of 1.3 for the signal path. Hey, if they allow it, more power to them! Will they allow high-res analog outputs?
 
Tenacious-V said:
So it was just a temp go ahead. Engadget's false headlines..... How would they go about updating the firmware of older hardware once the AACS is completely finished? Are the players internet capable, or is it just gonna be on the disc and installed automatically later on?
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Both ROM updates and internet downloads are options for the firmware upgrade depending on the features of the actual HD-DVD or Blu Ray hardware....so the answer you your question is yes and yes :)


BTW, you can read the full terms of the interim agreement at the AACS-LA site:

http://www.aacsla.com/support/AACS_Interim_Adopter_Agreement_060215.pdf


Also, Mandatory Managed Copy is not part of the interim license and it also seems neither Toshiba HD-DVD deck (HD-XA1 and HD-A1) will ship with Microsofts iHD "interactivity layer" which also must be upgraded via firmware.....this last bit has opened up a whole CASE of worms because it implies that in order to "enjoy" Mandatory Managed Copy, which will allow you to copy and stream HD-DVD content accross your home media server you might be forced to either pay a license to microsoft for iHD Interpolability(if you are a hardware vendor or a Hollywood studio) or buy iHD complient software if you are a consumer!!!(aka MS Vista is in your future)

In other words, iHD is tied to MMC!! :lol

The rub is, iHD was marketed as HD-DVDs' "interactivity layer" and a "better and easier solution to Blu-ray Java" *but* iHD actual role seems to be a Trojan Horse for yet another revenue stream for Microsoft!!! :lol
 
beermonkey@tehbias said:
Is it confirmed that this is allowed with Blu-Ray? Since they are replacing SACD with 'Blu-Ray Music Disc', I kind of expected Sony would want the latest protection of 1.3 for the signal path. Hey, if they allow it, more power to them! Will they allow high-res analog outputs?
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Well, yes, HDMI 1.3 complient transmitters are designed to go in things like HD-DVD and Blu-ray Player/Recorders, while HDMI 1.3 complient recievers are designed to go in things like HDTVs, Home Theater Recievers and Preamp/Processors....

The BDA has made some noise about Blu-ray music and we know Universal Music is a Blu-ray member, so BRMDs are coming....

That said, BRMDs are further down the pipe than Blu-ray movies and games so by that time 1.3 will be the norm anyway.......trust me, that shit will be encrypted to high heaven...

As far as analog 7.1ch pre-outs are concerned, I suspect they will allow it since they had no piracy troubles with DVDA or Super Audio CDs.....


BlueTsunami said:
I'm seriously not surprised by that. It was very disturbing how badly MS was pushing MMC for BD.
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Yeah, this revelation is bothering quite a people since MS was bad mouthing BDs lack of MMC and stating it as one of the big advantages of HD-DVD :rolleyes

With this new information, it doesnt seem like such a mystery why 20th Century Fox pushed so hard for BD+ in order to join Blu Ray and is now publically anti-HD-DVD.....I always wondered why that was, but now I am starting to see the light :D
 
Kleegamefan said:
As far as analog 7.1ch pre-outs are concerned, I suspect they will allow it since they had no piracy troubles with DVDA or Super Audio CDs.....
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It's real easy to make a DVD-A from an SACD, and I know people who do just that to play in their Acura TL DVD-A players.

Now, DVD-A is still pretty much secure, because the Verance watermarking works (and survives an analog signal path, though PPCMRipper makes that unnecessary). And the newer titles all use the Verance (probably because of such tools). Some Pioneer players ignore the watermarking, though (oops!).

Now, for those who just want their surround fix, I assure you that the newsgroups are loaded with DTS CDs of both DVD-A and SACD 5.1 titles.

I don't think there's much secure in the analog outputs themselves.
 
beermonkey@tehbias said:
It's real easy to make a DVD-A from an SACD, and I know people who do just that to play in their Acura TL DVD-A players.

Now, DVD-A is still pretty much secure, because the Verance watermarking works (and survives an analog signal path, though PPCMRipper makes that unnecessary). And the newer titles all use the Verance (probably because of such tools). Some Pioneer players ignore the watermarking, though (oops!).

Now, for those who just want their surround fix, I assure you that the newsgroups are loaded with DTS CDs of both DVD-A and SACD 5.1 titles.

I don't think there's much secure in the analog outputs themselves.
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DTS CD (lossy compressed audio) copies of DVDA and SACD (lossless audio) 5.1 titles??

That I gotta see....

Another problem I have is the fact SACDs do not use PCM audio but instead use 1-bit Direct Stream Digital sampling, so how could you make a DVDA out of an SACD, exactly??


Honestly, I havent heard anything about widespread piracy of DVDA and Super Audio CD....that is not to say it doesnt exist, just that I have my doubts its really *that* widespread....

At any rate, I hope you are right, because I would LOVE to "get my hands on" some more SACDs.....my collection is too small as it is, and I am in love with the analog-like DSD sound, so where would I go to get more information about this???
 
Kleegamefan said:
Another problem I have is the fact SACDs do not use PCM audio but instead use 1-bit Direct Stream Digital sampling, so how could you make a DVDA out of an SACD, exactly??
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Using the analog outs. Even a cheap Audigy/X-Fi card can record 24/96 5.1, and for a few hundred bucks there are some great pro cards. Once you have it recorded, there are some excellent DVD-A authoring packages like DiscWelder.


Kleegamefan said:
Honestly, I havent heard anything about widespread piracy of DVDA and Super Audio CD....that is not to say it doesnt exist, just that I have my doubts its really *that* widespread....
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Well, it's not that widespread, because the formats themselves are pretty niche to begin with.

Kleegamefan said:
At any rate, I hope you are right, because I would LOVE to "get my hands on" some more SACDs.....my collection is too small as it is, and I am in love with the analog-like DSD sound, so where would I go to get more information about this???
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There's a lot of discussion of the high-res formats at http://www.quadraphonicquad.com/forums/ including some on making homebrew discs.
 
Hmmmmmm....

Now, dates are being put to the delay? Still just speculation, or is info slowly being leaked??

http://www.digitimes.com/NewsShow/N...0000000000000000000004760&query=PLAYSTATION+3

Sources: Sony PlayStation 3 launch delayed until August

David Tseng, Taipei; Emily Chuang, DigiTimes.com [Monday 20 February 2006]

Sony will postpone the scheduled launch for its PlayStation 3 (PS3) game console from this spring until August, as the company is facing several issues with its production plans, especially concerning its inclusion of a Blu-ray Disc drive in the PS3, according to Sony's Taiwan-based contract manufacturers.
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