Playstation 3 out in 2003?
 

i just came across an old article that talked about Sony's ps3 due out in the second quarter of 2003. could it really be out that soon? anyone have more info on it?

"Sony Corp. is working on its next-generation PlayStation 3 which will include a disk drive when it is launched in the second quarter of 2003, and the fact that Sony is on track to sell 9 million PlayStation 2's this year shows the potential size of the game console market, Ress said."

http://www.cnn.com/2001/TECH/ptech/03/16/PVRs.idg/

That was written in march of this past year. Sony hasn't said anything official about PS3, so any talk about it right now is pointless.

And the article isn't exactly a qualified source. This man saying the information is Bill Ress, a spokesman from "data storage review" ... Whatever that is. So i'm 99% sure he's just speculating on what HE THINKS is going to be the next course for sony...

i agree with you, but it seems odd to me that anyone who is just "speculating" about this would be so bold as to predict the year and QUARTER the new system will be released.

:) well, thats the first thing that told me how full of crap the guy is. Thats what, 5 quarters away? No chance in hell. That would mean that the PS2 had a life span of 2.5 years.

If that was Sonys goal they wouldnt be able to reach it anyway. Were talking parallel processors. The development cycle for the PS3 is longer than that. Putting aside for a moment that they'd be shooting themselves in the foot (by sliting the PS2's throat) if they did rush out the next generation of the Playstation it would most likely suck hard.

Sony won't be the next company to show their hand. I think they'll wait until microsoft or Nintendo lays down their cards, then one-up them. Much like nintendo and microsoft did with the PS2.

This is what happened last time with the PS. Not long after it debuted, rumors started floating around about the next-gen console from Sony. PS3 won't come for another 5 or so years.

Also, don't trust it, just because it came from CNN's site. It was written by staff from something called IDG, and it's not exactly a top end news story. There's one source, this Ress guy, and the reporter likely didn't check his facts with anybody else. And the story isn't exactly world-class either. Maybe the reporter just sort of half-assed it, or maybe it was written by an intern or something. Anyway, no statement has come out of Sony officially confirming a PS3 for 2003.

Some people will cite the statement by a Sony exec suggesting that the X-Box might force a shorter life cycle, resulting in Sony releasing PS3 sooner, but that was just an idle speculation, with an underlying threat to Microsoft.

See, Sony wants the console's life span to be 5 years. The profit they make is contingent upon how many games they sell against how much hardware they sell. To make up for early losses on hardware, the system has to thrive for a certain amount of time. If Sony releases PS3 in 2003, it will kill the entire current generation of consoles, not just PS2. Sony would probably eat some losses, and certainly would reduce the profitability that PS2 could have by making such a move, but Microsoft would be hurt a lot worse. Microsoft's projections don't show X-Box being profitable in 2004. If a new console came out in 2003 which was much more powerful than the current crop, it could cut the legs out of the XBox software sales, and kill Microsoft's hope of ever making money on their console.

Sony would prefer to wait until 2004-2005 to release a PS3, I'm sure, but this rumor was mostly just to remind Microsoft that Sony can stil blast a cannon ball straight through the hull of Bill's console pleasure cruise.

So what. It's just some idiot who thinks he knows what he's talking about, and a reporter who is too lazy or too inept to check his facts.

Actually, Ken Kutaragi has already stated that the development cycle on the main PS2 CPU is well in progress, and that production could begin on the chipset and the chipset only as early as late 2003, but that definitely doesn't mean that the PS3 is on the way then, just that they are going in that direction in the upcoming 4 years. I doubt that the PS3 won't be seen until at least '04 late or '05, depending on the lifecycle and developer support of all three consoles. Obviously, the market will dictate it, but say, in the next 18 months, the Xbox starts to whip the PS2's a$$, you can make a sure bet that the development process on a next generation chipset will be given priority. Really, the day a ssytem is released, the R&D guys are already starting the next one.

If Sony is replacing the PS2 that soon then it is a bad thing for them. It means the competition has killed them. A successful console has a 4-6 year life.

No. The PS2 clearly isn't dead. It has an installed user base that nothing else even comes close to, and, most of the best games. PS2 systems are still selling strongly, even when competitor's systems are in stock and available.

However, if Sony thought it could wipe out the entire current generation of systems by releasing PS3 early, I think they might do it. It wouldn't mean that PS2 couldn't hang with the competition; it would mean that Sony thinks that by starting the next generation of new consoles, and heavy corporate hardware losses, they could bring more pain to the competition than they would to themselves.

If the GameCube falters badly, the Game Boy Advance may not be able to supply enough cushioning to keep Nintendo in the hardware game for another round, and if the X-Box never makes it to profitability, Microsoft will likely scrap their console plan in favor of interactive TV or personal video recorders as a more viable way to get their products off of people's PCs and into their living rooms.

It is widely known that Microsoft needs strong software sales through 2004 to break even on XBox. PS2 has already nearly covered its losses.

So, if Sony releases the PS3 in 2003, then they will lose all the profits that they could have made in 2004 on the PS2, as well as the loyalty of customers who expected strong support for the PS2 through 2004. Such a move would certainly be a gamble for Sony. If consumers didn't go for their new hardware, and the XBox made it to profitability, Microsoft would take first place by default in the next generation console war.

However, if such a move could derail Microsoft's hopes of making money on the XBox, their stockholders likely would not tolerate further losses in the console market. Microsoft may have deep pockets, but after the dotcom bubble burst, American investors have little tolerance for business plans which don't turn a profit. If the XBox ends up in the red, Microsoft will move to greener pastures, and if Sony can make that happen, then they might try to do it.

The PS2 is already a market winner and a proven success. There is no reason why Sony would NEED to release a new console in 2003. However, the detrimental effect such a move might have on Sony's hardware rivals might mean that they would WANT to put a new system out early.

Of course this sort of competitive jockeying probably wouldn't be an ideal situation for the consumer, but the invisible hand doesn't always work in the favor of the general public.

As far as I know there is a PS3 in Tokyo,they have the processor's ready, and its still a prototype.They showed it in a tv show here in Japan.But Sony is keeping is a big secret on its capabilities except that its at least 20times more faster than PS 2!The design of it resembles PS 2 but its no the final design yet.

No... that's just a juiced up EE. It's a tech demo, to show that they can use PS2 technology for things other than games. They've said it's not PS3, and that PS3 will have a new architecture.

I guess I didn't make it clear in my post, but yes I agree. There is no way we will see a PS3 anytime soon, because that would have to mean the failure of the PS2 and I don't see it happening. The earliest I would expect a PS3 would be the end of 2004.

one other point to remember...just because a new system is released doesn't mean the previous one is dead. last time i checked tens of millions of people were still buying games for the original playstation as well as the console itself. if the ps3 were to be released in the fall of 2003 (certainly a possibility) people would still be buying ps2 consoles and games to go with it for at least another year, if not longer.

Was that article written on April 1st?

No.

Wow. That was worth the bump. Well done Carnac.

You are underestimating the PS3's time travelling capabilities.

You guys are forgetting that they've said:

:lol:

http://img129.imageshack.us/img129/8...obviousyq2.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/1...bvious2jp4.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4...bvious3nm0.jpg

http://img177.imageshack.us/img177/4270/obvious2ca1.jpg

http://img245.imageshack.us/img245/4637/obviouszt7.jpg

I think this article was actually about the PSX that came out and failed in Japan. It was a PS2 with a HDD. Of course the person writing the article assumed it was the PS3 Sony was working on instead.

Old threads are fun...or not.