Playstation 3 Takes Global Hit

Posted on Friday 8th September 2006 at 11:06 by Rangers51

It's probably old news for a lot of you by now, but if you want a PS3 anytime soon you're probably in a world of hurt. And yes, that goes for everyone, everywhere reading this. If you're an American, you're going to be fighting everyone else for only four hundred thousand launch consoles on 17 November. If you're Japanese, then, MAWAII - but you're going to be diving into a pool that only has one hundred thousand on their 11 November launch.

If you're anywhere else, I am sincerely sorry. You're not getting anything at all until March 2007, and there's no word yet whether Sony will be able to catch up with their projected two million units shipped by that time. Obviously the odds aren't looking that great, but you never know.

Wonder why this is the case? You'll be shocked. Sony's having problems with Blu-Ray production! Factory production issues are slowing the production of working drives for the units, and it seems that shipping of the console can't really ramp up until the lone optical media device on the box actually works.

Microsoft, of course, finds this hilarious - Neil Thompson, head of the Xbox group in the UK, had this to say: "We know how challenging it is to pull off a global launch, so it's not surprising that Sony has backed away from their previously announced launch plan, due to the unproven technology they are trying to pack in to their console." Someone might want to let Neil know that it's not as if his parent company has ever launched anything but Xbox on time, though, don't you think?

Sources: HEXUS.gaming

Xbox Today Canada

Posted in: Gaming Industry News

Written by	Rangers51
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	Member Since: 1997-07-31
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Comments

Del S	Comment 1: 2006-09-08 11:41
	Looking on the bright side, you now have more time to save up for one! And besides, it's not a videogame related launch if we Europeans don't get to bitch about being four months behind the rest of the world...
Hamedo	Comment 2: 2006-09-08 12:12
	I'm wondering what the long term impact of this will be for Sony. Missed revenue recovery in the form of console sales.... Missed revenue in the form of game sales.... Lost confidence from the gaming community.... It seems like the other two big competitors are primed to take a step up the food chain. I do hope Sony is able to get their product out soon, though, and that it is a quality product. The more options gamers have the better, as it encourages improvement and development.
Dragon King	Comment 3: 2006-09-08 12:22
	Let's just hope it wont "screw up" like the X-Box 360's, well so I heard . But Hamedo is right, the confidence of gamers will be lost. And yes, what Del said we have more time to save up for one now. Edit Added a word
Rangers51	Comment 4: 2006-09-08 13:59
	Quote (Hamedo @ 8th September 2006 08:12) I'm wondering what the long term impact of this will be for Sony. Missed revenue recovery in the form of console sales.... Missed revenue in the form of game sales.... Lost confidence from the gaming community.... I think personally that all the things you describe are short term, not long term. I actually think that it will cause no small amount of grumbling for people who have preorders that can't get filled or even want to just try to pick one up for Christmas (in North America, of course), but the fact is that most of those units probably already have deposits down on them and it won't actually hurt the sales figures, thereby not causing any long term damage to revenue. With regards to market confidence, I think that's going to end up being short term as well. If they shipped all they wanted, but half of them didn't work properly, THAT would be a long-term devastation. As it is, they're slowing production to improve quality. That will tick off the impatient, but in the long run everyone will still get their PS3 and it (should) actually work. I would think that after the initial shortage that confidence will level out again.
Glenn Magus Harvey	Comment 5: 2006-09-08 16:35
	While back in the day of the N64 and the PS1, I stood with the N64 against the PS1, but I think these days I feel like standing with the PS3 against the XBox 360. The PS3 isn't the only technologically awesome console to be beleaguered by problems that might hinder its dominance. Theoretically, the Dreamcast should have done very well, which is why I feel bad for the PS3 now...
laszlow	Comment 6: 2006-09-08 17:12
	This cannot bode well. While Microsoft was never clear on the reason why they released so few 360s in the initial run (they claimed it was their strategy to create high demand and hype, but if that is true then they severely miscalculated), Sony definitely wasn't planning this. They can only hope that the initial run of both hardware and launch titles gets absolutely stellar reviews and the hype stays strong / doesn't fall any further. I still have high hopes for a fair number of PS3 titles (namely DMC 4 and both PS3 FF games), but I'm starting to lose confidence in Sony. It only continues the trend of every successive rumor and newsbyte making Nintendo look better and Sony look worse.
karasuman	Comment 7: 2006-09-08 17:30
	Quote (laszlow @ 8th September 2006 12:12) I still have high hopes for a fair number of PS3 titles (namely DMC 4 and both PS3 FF games), but I'm starting to lose confidence in Sony. It only continues the trend of every successive rumor and newsbyte making Nintendo look better and Sony look worse. My thoughts exactly, except I don't know what DMC4 is. No one wants to buy a console that doesn't look strong and wind up with another Dreamcast.
Del S	Comment 8: 2006-09-08 17:44
	If they play thier cards right though, they could have an incredibly successful european launch: That delay will allow for so many more European versions of games already released to come out on launch day. If they use their brains, Euro PS3 launch could have a selection of games comprised of almost every title launched in Japan and the US...
laszlow	Comment 9: 2006-09-08 19:21
	Quote (karasuman @ 8th September 2006 12:30) My thoughts exactly, except I don't know what DMC4 is. No one wants to buy a console that doesn't look strong and wind up with another Dreamcast. Devil May Cry 4 , and you're exactly right - if Sony continues to have all of these problems with the PS3 well into its lifetime, well, the PS3 will lose developers, lose popular games, and lose customers, in that order.
Barrylocke	Comment 10: 2006-09-08 19:41
	It would be a shame for that to happen to Sony's systems, but it seems like a possibility. I personally know more people reconsidering getting PS3s for reasons like this. Of course, my best friend believes that the PS3 will oversweep the compition and pound the Wii into the dust.
Rangers51	Comment 11: 2006-09-08 20:31
	I really don't know if you can compare Sony's situation here to what Sega was in a few years back. The Dreamcast, with its other problems, was also the second system in a row that didn't quite live up to expectations, in my opinion. The Saturn never really took off either, and even the Genesis had been pretty well overshadowed by the time of its demise. I think Sega had to dig themselves out of a hole with the DC and failed - Sony is now releasing a followup to a console that was more popular than God (and also had shortages and quality issues early on, but was itself following a console more popular than God). That's why I say that this is a speedbump, not a road culminating in a cliff.
SetzerGabianni147	Comment 12: 2006-09-08 22:03
	Neat! I can't wait until PS3 comes out! I think it will totally blow XBox 360 away. Does anyone know when Wii will come out?
Cloud_Strife510	Comment 13: 2006-09-08 22:07
	Quote if Sony continues to have all of these problems with the PS3 well into its lifetime, well, the PS3 will lose developers, lose popular games, and lose customers, in that order. They lost me the first time i saw what the PS3 was goig to look like, and the more it unravels the better and better a Nintendo Wii looks ironically i might buy a PS2 in the near future.
Del S	Comment 14: 2006-09-08 22:46
	Quote (SetzerGabianni147 @ 8th September 2006 23:03) Neat! I can't wait until PS3 comes out! I think it will totally blow XBox 360 away. Does anyone know when Wii will come out? Well, generally, you need to will your bladder to simply let it all go, and it should start from there. In all seriousness, Nintendo may be pulling a fast one here: Wikipedia says they plan to release before Thanksgiving 2006 in the US, in which case, they have less than a month to tell everyone. I can but hope a great case of irony is occuring here and Ninty are holding people's trust by being dishonest... ...but hey, I just want to see karma kick nintendo fanboys in the chuckies. I personally feel that the US now belongs to the 360, no matter what Sony do. They might hold Japan and Europe. However, I think overall, we're still heading for a repeat of the last console war, though Sony's margin will be greatly reduced.
GamblingCat	Comment 15: 2006-09-08 23:30
	With this, i may have to buy Sonic the hEdgehog for 360, with the price to high and plus, the 360 will likely have a price drop soon. But at least there is time to save up.
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