The rumours of a downgrade began when an anonymous inside source claimed that "The current designs, despite having vents all over the place, apparently still can't dissipate the heat to sufficient levels." The source also noted that the Cell processor could have its clock speed reduced from 3.2GHz to 2.8GHz, enabling Sony to manufacture a greater number of the next-gen processors.

Today, the rumour has been called "ridiculous" by Sony spokesperson Jonathan Fargher. Speaking to Eurogamer, Fargher said: "The PS3 downgrade story is categorically not true."

"Developers have been working with PS3 dev kits for anywhere between eight and 12 months, and to suggest that we'd now take the decision to downgrade the hardware at such a late stage, is, well, ridiculous," said Fargher.

In a somewhat amusing response to the claims that Sony was unable to fit all the components of the PS3 inside its case, Fargher said: "Granted, whilst all products are not perfect, we do have over 40 years of experience making consumer electronics equipment, and therefore, extensive experience in making things fit – PSone and Slimline PS2 being just two examples of that."

There you have it – reassurance that the people at Sony are experts at making things fit.

Share price sinks 3.6 percent on predictions of $900 per-console cost, spring 2007 US launch; contradictory corporate statements follow.

Across the United States, most Americans were relaxing this Monday, courtesy of the long Presidents’ Day holiday weekend. Not so across the Pacific in the corporate offices of Sony. The electronics and entertainment giant saw its stock price sink 3.6 percent, dropping to 5,300 yen ($45) per share. The fall affected the entire Tokyo stock market, with the Nikkei index dropping 1.75 percent to 15,437.93 yen ($130.57).

Monday’s drop follows a 2.8 percent decline in Sony stock on Friday, after Wall Street stock-brokerage firm Merrill Lynch published a report skeptical of the company’s next-generation console plans. It predicted the launch of the PlayStation 3 console could be delayed by 6 to 12 months from its current spring 2006 window, resulting in an autumn launch in Japan and a late 2006 or early 2007 launch in the US.

“We wrote last November that Sony’s design choices for the PS3 had resulted in an expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product,” read the report, “and we think that we’re seeing the consequences of those choices play out now. In particular, we think the problem points are the Sony Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive.” Merrill Lynch also cited heat-generation issues with PS3 hardware and the far-from-finished state of most games for the platform as factors.

While other analysts have predicted that the PS3 might not hit North America until Q4 2006 or Q1 2007–which would miss the all-important holiday shopping season–Merrill Lynch’s stature made many-a-trader skittish. The fires of unease were fueled further by another component of the report, which predicted the manufacturing cost of the console could be much higher than previous estimates of around $500 per unit.

“Our updated analysis indicates that the initial bill of [production] materials for PS3 could approach $900,” read the report. The report said that the production cost of a single Cell processor will be $230 at launch, with the Blu-ray drive setting Sony back $350 per unit. If that estimate is correct, that means the PS3 would have to sell for around $775-$800 to maintain a $125-$100 per-unit-loss similar to that of Microsoft’s Xbox 360.

Merrill Lynch expects PS3 production costs will start falling after 2007, when Sony can shift the Cell chip’s manufacture from the complex 90nm process to the more cost-effective 65mn process. Scaling Blu-ray to other devices will also bring down the drive’s price. Merrill Lynch predicts that the PS3’s production cost will fall to $320 in the three years after its launch, by which time the Cell will only cost $60 per unit and the Blu-ray drive $100 per unit.

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.”

There is much industry speculation going on that suggests that the Sony PlayStation 3 will not launch until late 2006 and early 2007.

There are rumors going around stating that the Sony PS3 will not make a Spring or E3 launch this year. The speculations are turning more towards the Summer 2006 launch for Japan, November 2006 release for North America and US, and March 2007 launch for Europe.

There is also speculation that a million units will be allocated to each territory. We already posted that news, that a million units per territory isn’t a rumor, but is plenty enough inventory for the Sony PlayStation 3 initial launch.

About a month ago, we were told by Sony that the PS3 was still “on-target for Spring 2006″, but they didn’t confirm whether or not the launch would actually be for Japan, or North America, or Europe. Our guess (and notice that I typed the word “guess”) is that Sony will launch in Sony-land first, which is Japan.

We were also told by Sony that the PS3 will be unveiled at E3 in Los Angeles this year. Well, if the launch is still scheduled for 2006, then by all means this would have to be realistic.

There are also people calling themselves “analysts” who are trying to do the roadmap on when the Sony PlayStation 3 will launch. Please keep in mind that anybody can be an “analyst”. And, analyst stories don’t have a very good track record on predicting the future. Some analysts stated that the Microsoft Xbox 360 would not launch in 2005, when in fact, the console did.

All these launch rumors, speculations, and roadmap predictions are happening because Sony has kept quiet. They were quiet at CES (Sony never promised any PS3 info at the Consumer Electronics Show in the first place), and they will probably keep quiet until E3.

Microsoft following the same course of “silence” prior to the Xbox 360 launch. They were so quiet, that many “analysts” predicted that Microsoft doesn’t have a video game console ready for the holidays 2005. Wow, they were sure wrong.

The two big questions surrounding Sony’s PlayStation 3 are “when?” and “how much?” Last week the consensus from analysts and developers was that Sony’s next-gen system would fall somewhere in the range of $500 (in large part thanks to its expensive …

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Following the rather muted showing at the Consumer Electronics Show and the fact that Sony had very little to say about the PS3 at the event (Sony CEO Howard Stringer talked much more about the PSP), some analysts are now beginning to question if the PS3 will even launch in North America this year, according to an article on MarketWatch. At this point, it’s fairly clear that Sony’s “Spring 2006″ date refers only to a possible Japanese debut at that time, but even that is hardly set in stone.

One of the big challenges Sony faces is being able to mass produce enough of the much-ballyhooed Cell chip. Analysts have indicated that Sony could miss its original launch window as it waits to make sure that chip yield is maximized before starting the PS3 manufacturing process. “The decision as to whether to delay the PS3 launch has yet to be made and is dependent on (improving its chip yield),” said William Drewry of Credit Suisse First Boston.

If there is a delay, however, Drewry added that he doesn’t believe it will be that long. “We view any potential delay as being one to two months rather than six months duration,” he said.

Evan Wilson, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities, believes “the most likely scenario” is that Sony will release the PS3 this summer in Japan with a shipment of roughly 1 million units and that the U.S. would be next with a million units in November. Wilson expects the European launch to be pushed out to March 2007.

The problem right now, though, is that Sony needs to get a solid launch lineup ready for the console’s debut and as Wilson points out, “All we’ve seen are [demonstration games] running on a box supposed to be the equivalent of the PS3. We really have no idea.”

Schelley Olhava, an analyst with IDC, added, “You don’t need to come out with 20 games for a Japan launch, whereas in the U.S. your need have about 15 to 20 games, plus a few that really stand out.”

Even if the PS3 makes it out on time in the U.S. for holiday 2006, the Xbox 360 will be entering its second holiday period and will likely have a very solid group of second-generation 360 titles. The competition is bound to be fierce. Wilson said he expects the PS3 titles to be “clearly weaker than the Xbox 360 holiday 2006 line-up.”

IBM’s radical Cell processor, to debut in Sony’s PlayStation 3 (PS3), could reshape entertainment and spark the next hi-tech boom, says Forbes.Com. Sony’s PS3 game console performs 2 trillion calculations per second. This means millions of homes will soon sport a supercomputer with the kind of power once reserved for seismic exploration and nuclear-weapons design to enable programmers to create videogames that look as realistic as film.

The report says some techies predict PS3 will usher in the next microchip revolution. The Sony system owes its computing power to a microprocessor called Cell, which runs at least 10 times as fast as Intel’s most powerful Pentium.

Sony PS3 will be released in May 2006, and that the recent reports of a delay are pure “myths”.

During the weekend, many sites and news agencies have reported that the Sony PlayStation 3 is full of bugs, and that the game machine is not ready for the Spring 2006 launch. However, please keep in mind that these are pure speculations.

Notice how much of the rumour is based on a “March 2006″ launch. Sony never told us on what month the launch will occur.

Unless Sony says otherwise, don’t take any notice to anyone else that’s claiming to know the facts or the scoop. There are tons of people out there misleading the public. If there is a change in the Spring 2006 Sony PS3 launch, we’ll know about it. Until then, be at ease that the Sony PlayStation 3 is on target for Spring 2006.

Rumor: Vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment drops the names of two possible PS3 launch titles.

According to an article in the US Official Playstation Magazine, Jack Tretton, vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, has dropped the names of two possible PlayStation 3 launch titles, in the form of Incog’s flight action game Warhawk and Factor 5’s Lair.

No confirmation has been made on his statement at this time. Expect official PS3 information in January when Sony is planning to fully blow the lid off the PS3.

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The head of Fox Filmed Entertainment, the division of News Corp. responsible for its motion picture output, has predicted that Sony’s Blu-Ray format will be the victor in the coming battle against the DVD Forum’s HD-DVD format. The two competing media are currently gathering supporters in an effort to become the next media standard, as CD and DVD were before.

“In terms of the number of companies involved, the PS3 momentum and the level of content that is committed to Blu-ray, it does seem to have a pretty strong lead,” said Fox Filmed Entertainment co-chairman James Gianopulos at the Reuters Media and Advertising Summit in New York. “We believe that Blu-ray not only has the superior technology and backing in terms of strength to market but also the superior content protection.”

Gianopulos is not the first executive to cite the PlayStation 3 support as a decisive factor in supporting one side over the other: similar comments have come from Paramount, and from Universal and Lions Gate. Neither the Xbox 360 nor Nintendo’s upcoming Revolution take sides in the conflict, with both using standard DVD media for their games.

Just when you thought that the new X-box 360 and other consoles were taking control of the gaming industry, Sony has again silenced any talk of its slacking off.

For starters, the third incarnation of the Sony Play Station console has a killer new processor that’s 35 times faster than the current PS2 chip, and twice as fast as its main competitor, the Xbox 360. And not only is it faster, the PS3 is also equipped with movie-quality graphics, presenting images in real time.

The console is similar in size to the PS2, but has a new rounded look, comes available in various colours, with the base model being white. The PS3 also comes internet-ready via Wi-Fi or ethernet ports.

Using Bluetooth technology, PlayStation has made its controllers totally wireless. Plus gamers are given the possibility of six additional USB ports to plug in whatever other gadgets you may have.

With all the other standard features such as DVD playback, gamers will now be able to store up to 50GB of information, using Blue Ray disc formatting.

Currently, the PS2 dominates the gaming industry with over 80 million units sold worldwide, and even though the Xbox 360 is out now, while the PS3 isn’t set to go on sale until early next year, the PS3 seems set to be a phenomenal success.

A few games to be released for the PS3:
Resident Evil 5
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
Final Fantasy VII Tech Demo
Madden NFL Next Gen (working title)
Devil May Cry 4

Comments published in a CNN article yesterday purporting to be from Sony CEO Howard Stringer regarding the planned pricing for PlayStation 3 have been removed after it emerged that he had not said anything on the question.

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From PS3 News

Almost every day there’s another research firm releasing the results of their analysis of the next-generation videogame market, and Research and Markets, an international market research and market data company, has released a 27 page prediction of videogames over the next few years.
The highlights include speculation we’ve all heard before. Research and Markets says Xbox 360 will pull ahead of PlayStation 3 through its early launch, but Sony will regain leading control of the market by the end of 2007. Nonetheless, the report predicts Microsoft will hold a substantial 30% of the hardware market by the end of 2010.

Research and Markets also foresees online gaming becoming an increasingly important part of the gaming experience, with Microsoft’s Xbox Live service leading the charge. The research overview provides no speculative details on whether Sony or Nintendo’s services will be comparative.

The next-generation console market as a whole will actually peak in 2008 according to the report, eventually generating $21.9 billion, whereas software sales will rise through 2010 at $16.8 billion.

The full report promises to compare all three next-generation hardware releases, though the overview provided in the press release and on Research and Market’s website doesn’t provide any insight to what, if any, impact Revolution will have on the market.

Last week, there were many rumors floating around the Internet regarding a certain patent belonging to Sony, which, if adopted, would have linked the individual copies of software with the hardware.

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It seems like Sony and Rockstar are joining forces to promote PS3? A gaming site has found out that The next generation of GTA will be launched exclusive for PS3.

GTA…One of the most violent games of all times….Sony…a multinational company, now having a really serious image problem due to the rootkit software scandal….PS3…the company’s future gaming console. What do these three entities have in common?
They have a lot in common, at least according to the Russian site GameMag.ru. It seems that the Japanese have been in some sort of secret talks with Rockstar, and…the outcome is that they’ve managed to secure for their future console, the above mentioned PS3, 8 full months of exclusive use of the future title from the “Grand Theft Auto” franchise.
Imagine what that means in terms of sales, especially since the “exclusivity” part of the deal doesn’t refer solely to other consoles, but also to the PC.Fans all around the globe will buy the PS3 in order to play the next GTA as soon as it is launched.
Well, if Sony wanted a publicity stunt for the launch of the PlayStation3, then this really is one of the best it could have come up with.

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It’s possible, says Sony Computer Entertainment president Ken Kutaragi; all that’s needed is a TV capable of displaying it.

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Usage models for HD displays includes playing a golf videogame along with a real golf game, looking at newspapers at full size, playing multiple HDTV streams simultaneously with filtering such as rotate/resize applied, video chat, quick zapping for different kinds of rich contents, and on.This is to show the power of cell.

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Sony expects to launch PS3 in Japan next March, and in the US in the autumn, with a price tag of $300-$400 (around £170-£230).

Sony also plans to unveil a compact video device “to fill the time gap before PlayStation 3 launches in Japan in March and in the US a year from now,” HollywoodReporter.com has revealed.

Howard Stringer, Sony’s CEO, stated that “PS3 will be bundled with a selection of preloaded films, TV programmes and games, and will sell for between $300-$400″ in an interview with the website.

While none of these launch details have been officially announced by Sony, it is becoming apparent that PS3 is central to the electronics giant’s plans for its next wave of technology, as it will be compatible with the company’s digital cameras, MP3 players and PSP. 

Stringer described it as “a high-definition value chain that starts with cameras and goes through projectors and television sets and ends up with PS3″.