Worldwide PS3 Launch in November

[Norse]

It's official: PS3 will launch in North America, Europe and Japan this November. Reuters (http://today.reuters.com/business/newsarticle.aspx?type=technology&storyID=nTKV002508&imageid=&cap=) reports:

Ken Kutaragi, the president of Sony Computer Entertainment, the company's game division, made the announcement at the firm's annual PlayStation business briefing to software licencees.

Sony plans to produce 1 million PS3s a month. 6 million will be ready by March 2007.
Other info from the conference report:

Worldwide November 2006 launch
Two-tiered online service model
Requiring of HDD
Linux on the HDD
Basic model of online service is free
Final dev kits will be sent in June 2006
Full backwards compatibility with PS2 and PS1 in HD
All PS3 games are on BR discs

Also, EvilAvatar member Norse pointed this out over at Gamespot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145972.html):

However, Kutaragi revealed that Sony had not decided whether or not the PlayStation 3 would come with the hard-drive pre-installed. "We might end up installing it in all PS3s, though that depends on the market," he said. This raises the possibility that the PS3 could be sold without a piece of hardware needed to play PS3 games--in effect forcing consumers to buy a peripheral for basic functionality.
The most interesting thing though is the fact we may already have a PS3 shortage due to Sony's production plans.

That seems like quite a low number, similar to what MS put out for the 360 in the first few months. -bap

Thanks to score, JediSanf, DeadlyDonkey, Rone and Ludoc for the similiar submissions.

[bapenguin]

Well...worldwide launch is good! November is good...it would have been a HUGE blow to Sony to miss the x-mas holiday.

[gigant0r]

Full backwards compatibility with PS2 and PS1 in HD

Nice! *listens for the collective sound of foreheads in Redmond being smacked simultaneously*

[Norse]

It may not launch with the hdd installed:

However, Kutaragi revealed that Sony had not decided whether or not the PlayStation 3 would come with the hard-drive pre-installed. "We might end up installing it in all PS3s, though that depends on the market," he said. This raises the possibility that the PS3 could be sold without a piece of hardware needed to play PS3 games--in effect forcing consumers to buy a peripheral for basic functionality.

More over at GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145972.html).

[Derella]

Kutaragi also made it clear that the hard drive will be necessary to play games--Sony is telling developers to make games assuming every PS3 has a hard drive installed...

...However, Kutaragi revealed that Sony had not decided whether or not the PlayStation 3 would come with the hard-drive pre-installed. "We might end up installing it in all PS3s, though that depends on the market," he said.
Does that make sense at all?

[bapenguin]

It may not launch with the hdd installed:



More over at GameSpot (http://www.gamespot.com/news/6145972.html).

That's just fucking retarded. How can you make the HD required for games and then possibly not include it with the system...oh that's right. This is a Blu-Ray player first, not a gaming machine.

[Norse]

That's just fucking retarded. How can you make the HD required for games and then possibly not include it with the system...oh that's right. This is a Blu-Ray player first, not a gaming machine.

Sony will probably not make the fact that you need the HDD known to the average consumer. They will be tricked into buying the system for $399, which looks like a nice price until you find out you have to go back and buy a HDD for $100 in addition. A nice way to make the system look less expensive. :)

[DeadlyDonkey]

Unfortunately a bit of comedy was left out of the post I submitted :(

"Crazy" Ken Kutaragi was out in force again at the conference, with this stunning piece of insight:

The "games are 'live' and the PS3 concept is '4D, from 8-bit to 16-bit planes, to the 'space' that you saw on the PS1/PS2, and now PS3 will be 'live.'"

All the info in various updates here too: http://www.joystiq.com/2006/03/15/ps3-press-conference-it-begins/

Also, the whole hard drive not with the console is just a rumour based on speculation. The only reason the press picked up on it is because it wasn't mentioned. That's all. He didn't dodge any questions, or say that they hadn't decided. Talk about clutching at straws....

[Monotone]

It's official; PS3 will launch in North America, Europe and Japan this November.

And we Australians probably won't get it until next June :(

[Cool AN]

I am speechless, in a good way.

[bapenguin]

I will give Sony props for COMMITTING to the Hard Drive though (for games), something MS failed to do. It just seems like Sony isn't committed to games.

[crashedout]

SO when I feed this info through my Kutargi filter I get:
-200k units at launch
-a floppy disk drive
-two ps2 games that will actually work
-you can buy memory sticks via a linux based web browser...

Kidding. MS wanted a lot at launch and they could not do it. Its all about those yields and components. I still would like to actually see a game running but at least we may get something this winter. Competition is good, it will force both companies to pull out the stops but Sony's actions as a company over the last few years leave a sour taste in my mouth. If it was not for some of their franchises I would not bother.

[Echani]

Well that's good news for me - I don't see myself queueing for one in the first month though, unless the launch titles are substantially more impressive than the 360's - so i guess that's the next bit of news we're after. That and the price tag.

[jBusy]

That seems like quite a low number, similar to what MS put out for the 360 in the first few months. -bap


It's not low at all. based on the sales figures available, Xbox 360 has only shipped about 2 million units up to this point. Maybe a little more. If Sony can stick to having that many available, it's 2 million per territory by next march. Also note that there was no reason for MS to ship any substantial number of consoles to Japan.

[Wolfgang]

I believe it was reported here that the first couple waves of BR movies would be $40 a movie.

Will this make PS3 games around $100 a game?

[DeadlyDonkey]

http://www.playstationteam.com/gallery/playstation3-press-conference.php

Some pictures of slides from the presentation

[TheEpicOfTyler]

This is good. I was really bummed out about yesterday's news, but this is good. :)

[phantomhitman]

finally, some info.

[score]

http://www.playstationteam.com/gallery/playstation3-press-conference.php

Some pictures of slides from the presentation

Is it just me or does the final picture of the PS3 show a slot loading drive?

[Sl1pstream]

http://www.playstationteam.com/gallery/playstation3-press-conference.php

Some pictures of slides from the presentation

Same case? I thought the hardware couldn't possibly fit in there?

[Vandenh]

That seems like quite a low number, similar to what MS put out for the 360 in the first few months.

They should be able to make more. By end 2007 the PS3 hardware is almost previous gen. Only the Bluray could be a prob. :)

[Badgun]

It's not low at all. based on the sales figures available, Xbox 360 has only shipped about 2 million units up to this point. Maybe a little more. If Sony can stick to having that many available, it's 2 million per territory by next march. Also note that there was no reason for MS to ship any substantial number of consoles to Japan.

6 million units worldwide by next March? What that will leave us is a ton of people still looking for a console 5 months after release. You do realize that at this point, you still can't walk in any store and walk out with a 360. If Sony only matches Microsoft's launch numbers, it will be a bigger debacle that what we've already witnessed. Given Sony's popularity, one would think that the demand for this system would be much greater than the demand for the 360.

Personally, I think Sony just wanted some press and people have been begging for PS3 info. From everything I have read, there is still no way the PS3 will be ready by November. My money's on a delay announced in August with a spring 2007 release.

[Paranoia]

Not getting fooled with the Sony Hype Machine. As always Sony did over promised and under delivered.

[Yeti2005]

Hmm the worldwide launch is good news but not great news (everyone included myself expects massive shortages). The devs getting final hardware in June 2006 is pretty crappy news. I think everyone assumed that the delay would give more developers more time but that isn't quite the case.

I guess I expected more out of today's announcement. I expected Sony to come out blazing with some awesome info and/or new game footage to keep customers thinking "Did you see GameXYZ?! I can definitely wait for Nov!"

[Cool AN]

It's not low at all. based on the sales figures available, Xbox 360 has only shipped about 2 million units up to this point. Maybe a little more. If Sony can stick to having that many available, it's 2 million per territory by next march. Also note that there was no reason for MS to ship any substantial number of consoles to Japan.

From GameIndustry:

From launch onwards, Sony plans to ship a million units a month of the PlayStation 3 - with six million units to be on the market by the end of its financial year in March 2007, indicating that the company plans to have up to two million units ready for day one.

[bapenguin]

I'm pretty sure MS has about 4 million 360's out there so far. 2-2.5 in NA, 1 in Europe and .5 in Japan. Granted 1/5 of japan's are sold.

[TrackZero]

Not getting fooled with the Sony Hype Machine. As always Sony did over promised and under delivered.

Ditto. I think it's good they finally released some data on the box though. The only part that's really fishy to me is the whole does/doesn't require/come with a harddrive thing. It just smacks of the harddrive being optional, just as before.

As for their worldwide launch, well, let's see what happens. It didn't work out too well for MS (aside from the fact they shouldn't have made as many units for Japan), though prehaps Sony won't have one of their contractors fall behind on parts either....though delays are always possible and I won't believe anything until I see it.

[Megalith]

Can someone tell me where the games are.

[Paranoia]

Its not that Sony has to worry about MS, but Nintendo's Revolution too.

[LilAbner]

Is it just me or does the final picture of the PS3 show a slot loading drive?

This has been known since E3 last year.

As for the worldwide launch, they're setting up for a huge shortage fiasco. If you want any shot at getting one by Christmas, preorder NOW.

Of course, I would never preorder a system in which I have no idea which games will be available at launch (besides the standby Madden 2007).

[fitbabits]

Smoke and mirrors, that's all this amounts to - almost well presented smoke and mirrors.

[31 Flavas]

Is it just me or does the final picture of the PS3 show a slot loading drive?Final picture? Unless it was specifically stated that is the final model, i'd assume its just something to look at. ..... Are they still showing off the boomerang controller?

[Heretic Machine]

It's a good thing that I'm planning on a Revolution this year, rather than a PS3, because you'll have to kung-fu fight someone to the death to get one this year.

EDIT: On a positive note, I may try to pursue a PSP after the price-drop.

[Phanto]

They can't afford launching the console after November, just like Microsoft did with 360 "in time" for christmas, even if the console have some sort of problema like overheating :rolleyes: (just kidding on that one)

From the looks of this every console now and future ones will be using hard disk as a "requirement".
Anyway is Revolution going to have a HD also ?

Also when the PS3 arrive be sure to grab more than one, one for yourself and the other go and sell it on ebay (I'm really going to do that, people are willing to paid anything for a hot product.)
360 anyone :rolleyes: :D ??

[Kelegacy]

I'm not planning on any next-gen system until a few games interest me for each respective platform (Oblivion is one big one for the 360 already!) but this is excellent news for us who were a bit crushed yesterday by the PS3 delay announcement. I want the next-console war to start THIS year, and hopefully it will. And a required HDD sold separately is tragic, but at least it's mandatory. Thank god. I'm happy and content for now.

This saves you a bit, Borys. I forgive you. :)

[31 Flavas]

As for the worldwide launch, they're setting up for a huge shortage fiasco. If you want any shot at getting one by Christmas, preorder NOW.Weren't the PS2 shortages caused by middle east dictators purchasing entire shipments? Something about using the cpu/gpu or whatever for their missile's guideance systems or something? heh...

PS3 should make for a good upgrade for those dictators still around...

[TrackZero]

EDIT: On a positive note, I may try to pursue a PSP after the price-drop.

Don't bother. I'll sell you mine, it's mint condition with Wipeout pure and a 1 gig memory stick, the box and everything is still there. It's running 1.5 for it's firmware and I haven't even picked up the thing since October of last year. Send me a PM if you're interested.

[TrackZero]

From the looks of this every console now and future ones will be using hard disk as a "requirement".
Anyway is Revolution going to have a HD also ?


Assuming you haven't read any of the Revolution specs, which have been out for some time now, it does have an internal "drive", though it's in the form of flash memory, 512MB worth.

I mean, where else would you be storing the games you download for the Rev if there's no internal storage? C'mon man, think before you ask silly questions next time.

Sorry, just didn't get much sleep last night. ;)

[EvilBob46]

Ditto. I think it's good they finally released some data on the box though. The only part that's really fishy to me is the whole does/doesn't require/come with a harddrive thing. It just smacks of the harddrive being optional, just as before.


The slide presentation from the meeting says: "HDD is required." EDIT: Whether you have to buy it separately like a memory card? Who knows.

[Yeti2005]

EDIT: On a positive note, I may try to pursue a PSP after the price-drop.

I wouldn't do that if I were you. I was an early adopter of the PSP and I've been regretting it ever since. I admit it's cool to watch movies on planes and the emulators are pretty cool (using firmware 1.5) but the game selection is pathetic (I have Lumines and Ridge Racer). GTA and Exit are supposed to be pretty good but they require a firmware upgrade.

[TrackZero]

Weren't the PS2 shortages caused by middle east dictators purchasing entire shipments? Something about using the cpu/gpu or whatever for their missile's guideance systems or something? heh...

PS3 should make for a good upgrade for those dictators still around...

No, the PS2 shortages were caused because one of the primary chemicals used in it's capacitors was in short supply (it was this stuff they had to take out of mud deep in African jungles, I shit you not. They had whole work camps with underpaid workers, on-site prostitution and STDs were rampant...that's what goes into making your PS2! Feel proud.).

That's also why there was some shortages in some Nokia phones that year too, it used the same chemical for it's smaller capacitors.

I'm sure I have a link to the story about it buried away at home in my bookmarks somewhere, but try googling for it.

[TrackZero]

The slide presentation from the meeting says: "HDD is required."

Gee Bob, try scrolling back and also notice that it's SOLD SEPERATELY. Does that make any sense? You sell a console that doesn't work without another $100 part? No, it doesn't, hence the confusion over it, because it's more smoke and mirrors bullshit. Try reading previous posts before you go replying in the future.

Edit: Once again, I need some sleep, don't mean to be so sharp in my reply. Just wish people would read up on things first.

[Paranoia]

The slide presentation from the meeting says: "HDD is required."

We also have seen "Spring 2006" slide presentation, but look what happened.

[Heretic Machine]

I wouldn't do that if I were you. I was an early adopter of the PSP and I've been regretting it ever since. I admit it's cool to watch movies on planes and the emulators are pretty cool (using firmware 1.5) but the game selection is pathetic (I have Lumines and Ridge Racer). GTA and Exit are supposed to be pretty good but they require a firmware upgrade.

Well, it's not the movies that interest me... There seem to be a lot of PSP titles that are coming up which look good. I'll admit, it's gotten way too slow of a start, but it's starting to look more tempting. As for the firmware... well, you pretty much have to live without emulators if you want to use the PSP as it was intended. It sucks, but that's the direction Sony decided to take, and it's why I don't already own a PSP.

[DeadlyDonkey]

Gee Bob, try scrolling back and also notice that it's SOLD SEPERATELY. Does that make any sense? You sell a console that doesn't work without another $100 part? No, it doesn't, hence the confusion over it, because it's more smoke and mirrors bullshit. Try reading previous posts before you go replying in the future.

I'll be sharp in turn.

NO WHERE HAS CONFIRMED IT IS SOLD SEPERATELY YET

happy?

[Chameleo]

i think sony sounds just as confused about the console as we are. Information is just trickling out and sounds very.. conventional / to-be-expected. nothing surprising here.

I'm betting on a 2007 release as well.

[Cool AN]

I wouldn't do that if I were you. I was an early adopter of the PSP and I've been regretting it ever since. I admit it's cool to watch movies on planes and the emulators are pretty cool (using firmware 1.5) but the game selection is pathetic (I have Lumines and Ridge Racer). GTA and Exit are supposed to be pretty good but they require a firmware upgrade.

I would recommend buying it. Upgrading isn't so bad, and if you really want emulators and homebrew you can downgread it. I wouldn't recommend that but if you really want to, who I am I to tell you other wise?

And GTA is good, and I have heard Exit is good.

[Vermillion]

A million units a month for a World Wide release? No offense, but the Asian market is going to consume all those units for several months leaving the American market more starved than it was for 360s...

And what is a game on PS3 going to cost since it has to be burned to BR? Like a previous poster mentioned, a movie is going to cost $40 on that tech, does that the games are going to be $80ish?

And the HDD quotes don't make a whole lot of sense. Almost as if they haven't fully thought it out, or they are only willing to release certain aspects of a plan that don't jive without the missing details. Either way, this sounds a lot like what the 360 did, and everyone "HATED" that....

[AntB]

I love Ken Katamaris george foreman grill. I think it's kind of sexy.

/Loves chrome.

[antoniogaud]

Color me confused. What have we learned today?

1) Playstation will be released simultaneously in November 2006.

Well, we sort of guessed that already, didn't we? I expect Sony will have even bigger problems than MS had due to shipping with 2 new technologies (cell and Blue-Ray) and a very complicated piece of machinery. Shortages will be worse then MS - guaranteed.

2) The PS3 will need a HDD.

This is new, but expected. The big question is whether or not the PS3 will come with the HDD or will it be priced seperately. With the expected price point estimated to be $425 for the base PS3, add another $100 minimum for a 60g drive and you have spent $525 before even getting one game. Add to this the eventual confusion (and anger) of gamers buying a PS3 without the HDD only to get home and learn that the $425 machine they just took home can't play the $60+ game they just bought.

The PS3 needs to have the HDD installed at sale - there is no other option. Sony will have to eat the price or sell a $500+ gaming machine.

3) Playstation expects to have an Xbox Live service at launch.

Highly expected. Anything else would be a disaster. Good news for gamers!

4) No announcement on price, exclusive games or final controller specs, etc.

I am not sure what to make of this, perhaps they are waiting for E3 in June to make the really big announcements?! My concern has always been how the game developers can make PS3 games stand-out from X360 games. I fear that the game quality will be almost identical. Making it worse, most of the games will be multi-platform anyway, which doesn't build a good case to spend the extra cash to buy the PS3 over the X360.

At the end of it all, I am almost more confused than before this morning's announcement. I think if everyone is honest, they would agree. Kutaragi's statements sounded wishy-washy, as if he couldn't commit to anything other than the launch date. For a machine that was supposed to launch this month, there seems an awful lot of speculations out there, even from Sony themselves.

[absolut taco]

Other info from the conference report:

Final dev kits will be sent in June 2006


Yeah, we could have done a spring launch easily but there was some problem with the bluray copy protection... Good one Sony!

[Vandenh]

>For a machine that was supposed to launch this month, there seems an awful lot of speculations out there

The Press event was obviously just damage control. Just throwing a bone.

[Nite_Moogle]

Isn't this the same release plan that Microsoft went for that tanked horribly on a comparable production schedule?

[Kamalot]

Smoke and mirrors, that's all this amounts to - almost well presented smoke and mirrors.
I couldn't agree more.

[bapenguin]

The June final devkit thing isn't so bad, that's about the time frame 360 developers got the final devkit. What is bad is the fact they are getting the devkit in June, when the system was supposed to be released by then. Doesn't make sense. Blu-Ray copy protection has nothing to do with the games.

[Nite_Moogle]

To a lesser extent it does; if the BR format wasn't finalized the games teams wouldn't be able to optimize the data on the disc for better loading times. Without knowing how the data on the disc is going to look they would be shooting in the dark guessing how bad their loading times would be.

For all we know the BR drive was the only thing missing from the final dev kits and the rest of the components have been in place for months.

[Roc Ingersol]

At this point in the 360's hype cycle, Microsoft wasn't talking about the 360's HDD being optional either. These things are always subject to change. Particularly with as much money as Sony has inside that box -- requiring a part that will not significantly depreciate in cost over time sounds unlikely.

Although a 60gb ps3 HDD makes that rumor of a larger HDD in the next run of premium 360s sound a bit more likely.

Oh, and delay due to copy protection capability on Blu Ray? please.
If that's the reason, why isn't the Blu-Ray release schedule slipping 6 months as well?

[Dr Quincy]

Wow. This sounds bloody fantastic!

[QueeG-Servo]

So, Sony lied to us for over a year. We just recentley found out they were lying to us for sure. Then they hold another press conference, shout more "Ken-isms", and the people suckle at the tap of Sony flavored Kool-aid again?

How can be people find out someone's a liar, then turn around and believe every word that comes out of his mouth on the next "story" he tells?

I for one, am not getting my hopes up. I'll wait till the launch to decide if I get one or not.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

Hmmm, nothing here that really surprises me. Then again, my excitement level for the PS3 hovers near a 1/10, so I guess I wasn't really expecting a whole lot.

A price announcement and some games would have been more interesting. Still, I haven't owned a Sony console yet (other than a used PSX), so I probably won't be picking this up anytime soon. Here's hoping that everything comes together for those who are looking forward to the system.

[SuperMonkeyFighter2]

Why is anyone surprised really? There are tons of comments here, like "Smoke and Mirrors." That's been the case from day one ...
Where is the answer to the question that REALLY matters: pricepoint. Come on ... they have final hardware right? They should know by now

[Chalex]

I'm not sure how everyone missed this

As for price, Sony has said the unit will not cost less than 50,000.00 JP YEN. This equates to $425.607 USD. Oh boy.

http://www.gamersreports.com/news/1746/


Sony has traditionally lanuched their systems in America/Europe for around $50 less than the converted price they launched for in Japan, so the expected price should be somwhere in the $399 - $449 range.

[Mason]

This was about the weakest set of news possible. If we were to take Sony seriously on their whole "we almost had it done, darn Blu-Ray licensing" spiel, then they should already have pricing, SKUs, the HDD situation, and launch titles worked out. They don't. They've got a crazy man and a few Powerpoint slides.

And god, do people not see how this Christmas will turn out? PS3's high hype and low availability will cause a surge in demand for next-gen consoles, which MS will be only too happy to fulfill. MS could get away with a slow launch, as if the 360 wasn't on the shelf there wasn't a competing device that consumers could take home instead. If they could decently supply all territories before Christmas '06 then PS3 would have a pretty healthy launch, but emulating Microsoft's slow start when you're second/third to market is just asking to get boned.

The PS3 will still succeed, unless a lot of previously-announced exclusive and multiplatform titles migrate toward the 360 because of this delay. Not terribly likely, but the PS3 lives and dies based on its third-party support, so any damage there would be costly.

[see colon]

since i can't resist poking fun at sony...

since the system is coming out november 06 we should have a version without a faulty optical drive by november 08. early adapters will be able to gain a few etra months of play by flipping their console upside down.

sony, who have been quick to point out the huge demand and lack of supply on their 2 previous console launches (PS2 and PSP) nave decided to follow in microsoft's footstaps and launch worldwide durring the busiest shopping season, and somehow thinks they can maintain a consistant supply at retail.

in 2009 sony will redesign the PS3 and remove all of the "unnessesary" parts, including 1 of the network ports, the hard drive bay, and all fans. when this happens, peripherals like multi-taps will not function with the newer system because sony will add a small piece of plastic that "looks good" but prevents you from plugging in the adapter all the way. the good news is, you'll still be able to rotate the sony logo so it still looks swank if you have your console standing verticaly of laying horizontaly.

you can connect your PS3 and your PSP, creating a symbiotic gaming relationship. doing so will require you to purchase a new PSP, because by this time you'll have flashed the firmware so many times that it has become corrupted.

the PS3 will later be compared to taco bell's mexican pizza. it'll piss of the mexicans and the italians, but damn it's good.

controlling nuclear missiles, ICBM's, and WMD's with the PS3 will require a HDD, linux, and a PSP with firmware 3.1. a memory card (sold seperatly) will be required to save your progress.

because of the recent success of the PSP comercials featuring 2 cartoon squirrels, sony will launch the PS3 using a similar technique, but this time using cartoon representions of fidel castro and "ousted iraqi dictator" saddam hussein. the comercial will feature computer generated images of george lucus' chin being eaten by his neck. hells yeah.

it'll be jibberish, but mark rein will have something to say about PS3.

it'll be overly technical, but john carmack will have something to say about PS3

it'll be egomanical, but derek smart will have something to say about battlecruiser. he'll sneak this into the mainstream press by passing it off as somthing about PS3.

[Mason]

I'm not sure how everyone missed this



http://www.gamersreports.com/news/1746/


Sony has traditionally lanuched their systems in America/Europe for around $50 less than the converted price they launched for in Japan, so the expected price should be somwhere in the $399 - $449 range.

That's based on a quote from May '05. I doubt anyone is standing by that.

[EternalGamer]

I agree with the criticisms about this being alot of fluff. But a few days ago, nobody even knew this annoucement was suppose to happen. It was clearly designed quickly to just be damage control, not a real announcement. It makes sense that we would have to wait till one of the big conferences to get more info.

With that being said, I'm pretty impressed with the commitment to the Harddrive. That's a pretty costly commitment (if they stick with it) and it shows that they have guts in tryng to outdo Microsoft. Sticking by Bluray could also be seen as sort of gutsy too, but as some have pointed out, there are alterior motives behind that decision.

My currently interest level is about 5/10 for a PS3 and that's not good since I have bought every system at our around launch (with the exception of 3D0 and CDi) since the SNES (this includes the Genesis, TG16, Jaguar, Saturn, PSX, N64, Dreamcast etc.). Having said that, I think I'll drop by the gamestore today to see if they are starting preorders. I abhor preorders but PS3s are going to be ridiculious to find and if I can be number 1 on my local EB's list, I'm pretty sure I'd have a shot at getting one. I can always cancel later when we get real news about how things are going to turnout.

Dan

[Mason]

With that being said, I'm pretty impressed with the commitment to the Harddrive. That's a pretty costly commitment (if they stick with it) and it shows that they have guts in tryng to outdo Microsoft.
Costly for whom, though? The current spiel makes it sound like you'll be picking up a hard drive with your PS3, the same way you had to pick up a memory card for your PS1 or PS2. And we know how everybody hates to gouge consumers on accessories.

I look forward to Sony clarifying the situation, but right now it sounds like they'll have a required, non-included hard-drive, which is pretty screwed up.

[Hellstorm]

Full backwards compatibility with PS2 and PS1 in HD

Nice! *listens for the collective sound of foreheads in Redmond being smacked simultaneously*

Nintendo already said the Rev will play everything from the NES to the GC. Why would they be smacking thier heads? :D

[lurker4hire]

Perhaps they'll sell a non-hdd version and spin it as an option for people who already own a 2.5 inch ide drive. It would work for me, as I do happen to have an extra 40gb 2.5" drive hanging around, but I doubt it'll work for most.

Who am I kidding? Knowing sony the 2.5" disk won't be IDE but instead some bastard child proprietary spec born out of the nightmares of some poor engineer working a 90 hour week in some hell hole of an R&D lab.

[Roc Ingersol]

Isn't this the same release plan that Microsoft went for that tanked horribly on a comparable production schedule?
Yep. But look at their options:

Launch worldwide in November: inadvertantly hand some NA/EU holiday sales to Microsoft when people can't get their hands on a PS3.
- or -
Launch in Japan in November: dominate a territory disinterested in the 360, and hand every NA/EU holiday sale to microsoft.
- or -
Launch in NA/EU in November: still have severe shortages that hand some NA/EU holiday sales to microsoft, and give the middle finger to their most rabid supporters.

[Mason]

It'd be SATA if anything, and letting end users buy their own drives cuts Sony out of a rich accessory plum, as well as makes any PS3 hacking many times more convenient. Not going to happen.

[Worldcrafter]

Sony has traditionally lanuched their systems in America/Europe for around $50 less than the converted price they launched for in Japan, so the expected price should be somwhere in the $399 - $449 range.

At this point, I'm more interested in buying a Revolution than the PS3, and by the time the PS3 roles around, I don't think my wallet will have recovered enough to sink ~$500 on a new system. I'll probably wait to purchase it, unless the launch line up is amazing.

[Magnanimous Gnome]

It'd be SATA if anything, and letting end users buy their own drives cuts Sony out of a rich accessory plum, as well as makes any PS3 hacking many times more convenient. Not going to happen.

Exactly. Why let consumers use a much cheaper/better alternative when you can gouge them out of $100 for a HD with less storage space than the iPod.

Oops, I guess we were talking about Sony here, heh. :p

[Nadreck]

I don't really mind the lack of pricing information, since it opens up avenues for the price to continue to drop, without having to backpedal.

It's also worth noting that they haven't talked much about the controller... I do wonder if there were a few slides that were made, banking on winning their Immersion lawsuit appeal, that were taken out at the last minute when their appeal was denied. Given other "cocky" practices Sony has done in the past, it's entirely possible that the reason for no price point and no final dev kits til June is that they need to redesign the controller.

[slink-jadranko]

Is it just me or does the final picture of the PS3 show a slot loading drive?

Possibly, though I would guess it's just something of the design that make it look that way. Some people claim they are better for discs, but I found the one slot loading DVD drive I had on my PC stopped working faster than any others, and it was the slot loading mechanism that died. Therefore ever since I've avoided them.

Like I say, I guess that whole section is just the face plate for the drive.

Then again, looking closer, you may well be right.
Hmmmmmm.

[Grimmjow]

WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOT, i figured as much

[agentgray]

since i can't resist poking fun at sony...

since the system is coming out november 06 we should have a version without a faulty optical drive by november 08. early adapters will be able to gain a few etra months of play by flipping their console upside down.

sony, who have been quick to point out the huge demand and lack of supply on their 2 previous console launches (PS2 and PSP) nave decided to follow in microsoft's footstaps and launch worldwide durring the busiest shopping season, and somehow thinks they can maintain a consistant supply at retail.

in 2009 sony will redesign the PS3 and remove all of the "unnessesary" parts, including 1 of the network ports, the hard drive bay, and all fans. when this happens, peripherals like multi-taps will not function with the newer system because sony will add a small piece of plastic that "looks good" but prevents you from plugging in the adapter all the way. the good news is, you'll still be able to rotate the sony logo so it still looks swank if you have your console standing verticaly of laying horizontaly.

you can connect your PS3 and your PSP, creating a symbiotic gaming relationship. doing so will require you to purchase a new PSP, because by this time you'll have flashed the firmware so many times that it has become corrupted.

the PS3 will later be compared to taco bell's mexican pizza. it'll piss of the mexicans and the italians, but damn it's good.

controlling nuclear missiles, ICBM's, and WMD's with the PS3 will require a HDD, linux, and a PSP with firmware 3.1. a memory card (sold seperatly) will be required to save your progress.

because of the recent success of the PSP comercials featuring 2 cartoon squirrels, sony will launch the PS3 using a similar technique, but this time using cartoon representions of fidel castro and "ousted iraqi dictator" saddam hussein. the comercial will feature computer generated images of george lucus' chin being eaten by his neck. hells yeah.

it'll be jibberish, but mark rein will have something to say about PS3.

it'll be overly technical, but john carmack will have something to say about PS3

it'll be egomanical, but derek smart will have something to say about battlecruiser. he'll sneak this into the mainstream press by passing it off as somthing about PS3.
Some of those are comedy gold. Made me Laugh Out Loud. Derek Smart.

This is like a summation of the last five-ten years in gaming.

[Dag-Sabot]

I think SONY's announcement was aimed at fidgety investors, rather than reassure [wealthy] gamers.

My prediction for ps3:
Right around launch time Ken to gets smashed on cheap rice wine and starts wrecking one-of-a-kind Ferraris.
I suppose about now *** is sending Sony a "Thank-You" card in recognition of the latters support in marketing the 360.
-And more rice wine.

[Zanzibar]

Holy fuck. This is the WORST NEWS POSSIBLE for developers and publishers. Not only do they not get extra time to develop for a US launch, but they will have to release at launch day where there WILL BE NO SYSTEMS ON THE SHELVES, so their sales will be crap. Activision had 4 launch titles for the X360 - CoD2, Gun, Quake 4, American Wasteland. Their sales reflected the fact that the system was unattainable, and only CoD2 sold even close to what they had hoped.

The publishers who waited for March to release their Xbox 360 games are geniuses. The systems will start being available now, there is a ready-installed base so their games will sell much better than at launch, and they've had an extra 4 months to tweak and tune the games to look kick-ass.

The PS3 developers will take notice, and in all likelihood will follow suit. The PS3 launch titles just got fewer and crappier, and they won't sell well. The publishers are gnashing their teeth right now.

[Wolfgang]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/19/iraq_buys_4000_playstation_2s/

Iraq + PS2 news from back in the day.According to a WorldNetDaily report, US customs, the FBI and military intelligence - a contradiction in terms if we ever heard one - are investigating shipments of Sony's next-generation games machine to Baghdad. Some 4000 consoles have made their way to Iraq, those agencies reckon.

[Zanzibar]

http://www.theregister.co.uk/2000/12/19/iraq_buys_4000_playstation_2s/

Iraq + PS2 news from back in the day.

They would have been used as guidance systems for the ballistic missiles that Saddam was producing, but the fucking thing was so hard to program that they gave it up. ;)

[DoubleUranium]

The one piece of info I'm looking for is the controller, and they still showed nothing. I find that very strange that the slideshow didn't show the controller - it must not be final yet. For the love of God Sony put real analog triggers on it!

[Pigeon]

Full backwards compatibility with PS2 and PS1 in HD


Sweet! So I can play Battle Arena Toshinden in HD?!

[Cyotik]

I'm worried for Sony. I hope they can get enough units out for a successful Christmas launch but its starting to look grim.

[Kelegacy]

Originally Posted by Norse
Full backwards compatibility with PS2 and PS1 in HD

In HD? Nice. Backwards compatabilty is a great bulletpoint for my future purchases. It means I can get rid of my current system and not regret it later.

[Zanzibar]

Not sure, but I thought they only specifically said that PS2 games could be played in HD. I don't think they said that PS1 games could.

[Carnifex]

Not sure, but I thought they only specifically said that PS2 games could be played in HD. I don't think they said that PS1 games could.
If they have a video scaler in there for DVD playback, it can probably be used to upscale everything. Using pixel shaders to do advanced scaling is also possible (ref. Media Player Classic).

[see colon]

define HD. a PS1 game running in it's native resolution mapped and stretched to a 1280*720 pixel polygon then displayed full screen is technicaly HD, right?

HD pong FTW!

[Sensei-X]

In HD? Nice. Backwards compatabilty is a great bulletpoint for my future purchases. It means I can get rid of my current system and not regret it later.

Well considering how some first gen PS2 games don't even work on newer PS2s or have issues, and each revision of PS2 was less compatible with PS1 games, I wouldn't be so quick to get rid of the old consoles. I'm pretty sure by fully backwards compatible they mean 85% of old games will work (if we're lucky).

[Major Dan]

Well, I'll be DAMNED!

I wish them the best of luck.

You better go pre-order right now if you want one at launch, because you know there aren't going to be many of them.

Count me surprised :eek:

[bean19]

All PS3 games are on BR discs
Praying that they somehow ship with at LEAST a BRx2 drive or that they install every game to the HD and just use the BR discs to prevent piracy.

I so don't want to have to play MGS with a minute to two minute load screen between every map.

[Phades]

The hard drive will not be sold seperately if it's required to play games. The whole idea that it might be is stupid. There is just no way Sony would do that.

[DeadlyDonkey]

I'm pretty sure by fully backwards compatible they mean 85% of old games will work (if we're lucky).

That's a huge over exaggeration of games that didn't work last gen. There was a list of about 40 titles, from the whole PS1 back catalogue. I think they got it done pretty well.

[Norse]

I still can't understand why people are so focused on bacwards compatability. Why not just keep your old console until you get tired of those games, or until they get replaced by better next-get versions, and let the console-designers spend their time on more important things. As much as I'm fond of the idea of having a collection of old games, I never really play them. It's fun, but not at all important.

[see colon]

Well considering how some first gen PS2 games don't even work on newer PS2s or have issues, and each revision of PS2 was less compatible with PS1 games, I wouldn't be so quick to get rid of the old consoles. I'm pretty sure by fully backwards compatible they mean 85% of old games will work (if we're lucky).
it's not just first gen games... tekken 5 won't work properly on the newest PS2's*. or to be more exact, tekken 1, 2, and 3 that are included with tekken 5 won't work on new PS2's*.

*75000's, slim ones without modems.

[Kamalot]

I still can't understand why people are so focused on bacwards compatability. Why not just keep your old console until you get tired of those games, or until they get replaced by better next-get versions, and let the console-designers spend their time on more important things. As much as I'm fond of the idea of having a collection of old games, I never really play them. It's fun, but not at all important.
I don't have space around my entertainment center to keep my systems hooked up all at once.

Now, if I could have a system or two do all the work of older systems, that would make life much easier, and even give me access to systems I don't have.


Revolution
NES
SNES
N64
GameCube
Xbox 360
Xbox
PS3
PS2
PS1

I suppose if you come from the Playstation camp, there aren't a whole lot of reasons to go back to old games. It isn't like old Playstation games have great gameplay that stands on its own. They play like modern games, only uglier.

Now if only someone would come along and make a Sega machine that could handle:

Dreamcast
Saturn
Genesis
and maybe even some Master System with 3D goggles.

[Kelegacy]

I suppose if you come from the Playstation camp, there aren't a whole lot of reasons to go back to old games. It isn't like old Playstation games have great gameplay that stands on its own. They play like modern games, only uglier.

And this is different from the other consoles? (with the possible exception of the Revolution itself).

Man, you are like Atlas with the Sony burden on your back.

[Kamalot]

And this is different from the other consoles? (with the possible exception of the Revolution itself).Well, the 'other consoles' being the Revolution and the 360. The 360 isn't REALLY backwards compatabe. I can't play my favoriote games on it. I'd love it if it were.

The argument still stands. It is important to be backwards compatabe most people don't have space around their entertainment center to keep many systems hooked up all at once.

One could argue it is MORE important if your platform has a history of timeless games that are still excellent today.

It is also important to keep video games around as a type of history. You can still buy Casablanca. Why can't you buy old games for new platforms? Sure, you can come across a package with a few older games in it, but these are few and far between. Why do you have to have an old system hooked up or one of those 'games-in-a-joystick' deals for each game? Why can't I play old games on my system? I can play old movies on my DVD player, provided I buy them again.

[mister_slim]

I so don't want to have to play MGS with a minute to two minute load screen between every map.
I'll point out that the BR drive has to be equivalent to a 10x DVD drive, because that's what developers were told to target.

[bean19]

I'll point out that the BR drive has to be equivalent to a 10x DVD drive, because that's what developers were told to target.

That's what developers were targeting, but that isn't necessarily what they were told to target.

As I've pointed out before, even a BRx2 is not as fast as a DVDx10. Unless there is something weird they are doing like using the BR disc as copy protection on the outer-ring and then using DVD on the interior, the best they can do according to the current tech information on the BR is 9 MB/sec (for a BRx2). That's a lot slower than the 13.21 MB/sec of a DVDx10.

Hopefully they've figured something out like that though. I want games to be able to load and stream at high speeds.

If every review of PS3 games complains about obnoxious load times, I'm going to be upset that I had to spend so much money on an unnecessary HD-movie player that is being foisted on me to promote Sony's position in the format war.

The PS3 needs to be a gaming machine first.

[Kamalot]

If every review of PS3 games complains about obnoxious load times, I'm going to be upset that I had to spend so much money on an unnecessary HD-movie player that is being foisted on me to promote Sony's position in the format war.

The PS3 needs to be a gaming machine first.

Amen. We ran into the same damn problem with the PSP. Sony didn't design it to be a game machine. As a result, we are left with slow-loading, battery-munching UMDs so the movie studios can sell you Stealth (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0382992/).

[Zeal]

I find it funny that Sony refuses to show a game.

[overdrivechao]

Can someone tell me where the games are.

At least 150 titles currently in process, about 149 more than 360 had a year before it's launch.
Click here to see the games (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3148332#p1.3)
...and then shut it, you fool.

[Norse]

At least 150 titles currently in process, about 149 more than 360 had a year before it's launch.
Click here to see the games (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3148332#p1.3)
...and then shut it, you fool.

Impressive list, at least if you look at the quantity. Not many games there that would make me interested in getting a PS3 though. The titles that are of any interest to me are planned for the X360 as well:
Resident Evil 5
Pro Evolution Soccer 6
Alan Wake
Alone In The Dark 5
Indiana Jones
The Darkness
Splinter Cell: Double Agent

What's up with all the Japanese board games? People actually want to play them on their console? Weird...

[Major Dan]

At least 150 titles currently in process, about 149 more than 360 had a year before it's launch.
Click here to see the games (http://www.1up.com/do/feature?pager.offset=3&cId=3148332#p1.3)
...and then shut it, you fool.
I would say that list is a little ambitious. Also, that list doesn't really account for time, when those games will come out. My bet is very few for launch.

[overdrivechao]

... and yet still more than the three original games for 360 that made it, hopefully.

[bean19]

Great list. Thanks overdrivechao

Exclusive "Must haves" (franchises that are known and will sell systems to people that love the series):

Metal Gear Solid
Castlevania
Devil May Cry 4
Killzone (if the game delivers)
Resistance (only if Insomnia (Ratchet & Clank) deliver and do a bunch of promotion. New IP, but they have the chops to promote it well if it is a killer title and/or it comes out close enough to release to get heavy coverage).
Tekken 6

Games that I'm interested in personally from this list:

Final Fantasy VII remake and XIII (may not happen and may be multiplatform)
Unreal Tournament 2007 - multiplatform
Resident Evil 5 - multiplatform
Silent Hill 5 - may be multiplatform
Soul Calibur 4 - may be multiplatform
Splinter Cell: Double Agent - multiplatform
The Embrace of Time: Chapter 1 Ressurectio Ocolus (if we get it in the states)
Fatal Frame 4
The Getaway 3
Infraworld and Omikron 2 - by the Indigo Prophecy guys (Quantic Dream)
Makai Wars - Nippon Ichi RPG
Project Assassins (from the Prince of Persia folks)
Project New Jersey - Obsidian RPG (probably cross platform)
Project Offset (cross platform)
Red Dead Revolver 2
Shin Megamei Tensei
Vampire's Rain
Way of the Samurai 3

That's 6 must-have exclusives and a whole bunch of really good multiplatform games and other games.

Let's compare that the X360 lineup (http://www.cheapassgamer.com/forums/archive/index.php/t-53262.html).

"Must have" exclusives:

Gears of War
Halo 3
Blue Dragon
Too Human
Project Gotham Racing 3
Fable 2
Lost Oddysey

Middling exclusives:

Perfect Dark Zero (I know it gets a lot of hate on here but it is a AAA title that is selling systems)
Kameo
Banjo Kazooie
Viva Pinata
Ninety-Nine Nights
Killer Instinct 3

The X360 has one more "must have" exclusive that will sell systems than the PS3, and several more middling exclusives, but that can be expected since the PS3 is so far from launch. Additionally, the X360 has more "middling" games that I didn't mention here that aren't confirmed exclusives (or outright multi-platform) that I'm also very interested in like:

Dead Rising
Burnout Revenge
Tomb Raider: Legend
Alan Wake
Resident Evil 5
Elder Scrolls: Oblivion
(could list ten more but snipped - you get the point).

Still, they are really fairly comparable, though the advantage right now is definitely Microsofts. In the last generation they came to the game late and thus were always behind their competitors in total shipped units. This means that fewer developers wanted to make exclusives for the Xbox because it would not be as profitable. However, this generation they seem to realize that having a hefty software library is the ONLY way to gain market share and they are doing so.

Both systems will have some really great exclusive as well as a large number of middling titles and multiplatform titles. The only thing to do, if you are a hardcore gamer like myself, is to own both systems.

My only problem is that I don't want to have to pay a ton for an HD movie player that I don't want or need, and that looks like it will cause my game load times to be higher than they could be if DVD was used instead. . . so I'll probably have to hold off on purchasing a PS3 until there is a significant price drop and/or enough of these games are out.

Meanwhile, I'll have lots of games to play on my PC, X360, and PS2. I'll totally opt out of a PS3 for a while and just get a Revolution instead if the Revolution is cheap enough, fun enough, and has enough games coming out for it that it won't simply collect dust like my Gamecube did between Zeldas and Metroids.

Anyway, I'm really happy that you provided this link. I finally have some reason to get excited about the PS3. . . though to be honest, the lack of a really strong RPG for the system that is guaranteed to both be MADE and to be translated for the US worries me.

We'll probably know a whole lot more at E3 and then I can start salivating for the PS3 properly instead of only being mildly interested and worried about potential costs and load times.

[Aries7777]

I'll probably do the same thing I did with the 360, I'll wait 3 months and buy it when it is readily available. Fuck the Holiday Rush.