Sony scuppers 2004 PS3 launch, spills on PSP and more
Piece by piece, the jigsaw is built.
In an interview with a French newspaper, Sony Computer Entertainment boss Chris Deering made some of the most candid remarks to date, relating to the outfit’s hardware strategy over the coming years.
Speaking of the PSP, he said, “Our portable console PSP will ship to European retailers late next year. Aside from games, it will be able to play back music and movies. As for pricing, it will certainly be less than portable DVD players and likely more comparable to Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.”
This finally underlines the PSP’s multimedia role, and further hints towards the media convergence strategy that Sony is no doubt working on at this time. The PSP is also looking like a sweetener too, great news for consumers. Given the GBA SP retails at around £90, a fully loaded music, movie and game player hitting the market at a comparative price point illustrates the aggressive stance Sony is poised to take in Nintendo’s key market.
Deering also pointed towards the PSX DVD player/writer PlayStation 2 hybrid being prohibitively expensive. “It will be equipped with a variety of components including a hard-drive, DVD writing capability, TV tuner and more. It will go on sale in Japan later this year, but we expect it to appeal only to technophiles.” If Sony aims something at technophiles from its consumer electronics division, we have done enough leering through showroom windows to know that it’s likely to be out of reach of most PlayStation gamers.
Then, in a final revelation, Deering scuppered any chance of the PlayStation 3 launching into any market in the next 18 months, ending speculation that some refused to release: “All I can really say [about the PlayStation 3] is that it definitely won't launch in 2004.”
More on everything Sony as we get it.
Speaking of the PSP, he said, “Our portable console PSP will ship to European retailers late next year. Aside from games, it will be able to play back music and movies. As for pricing, it will certainly be less than portable DVD players and likely more comparable to Nintendo's Game Boy Advance.”
This finally underlines the PSP’s multimedia role, and further hints towards the media convergence strategy that Sony is no doubt working on at this time. The PSP is also looking like a sweetener too, great news for consumers. Given the GBA SP retails at around £90, a fully loaded music, movie and game player hitting the market at a comparative price point illustrates the aggressive stance Sony is poised to take in Nintendo’s key market.
Deering also pointed towards the PSX DVD player/writer PlayStation 2 hybrid being prohibitively expensive. “It will be equipped with a variety of components including a hard-drive, DVD writing capability, TV tuner and more. It will go on sale in Japan later this year, but we expect it to appeal only to technophiles.” If Sony aims something at technophiles from its consumer electronics division, we have done enough leering through showroom windows to know that it’s likely to be out of reach of most PlayStation gamers.
Then, in a final revelation, Deering scuppered any chance of the PlayStation 3 launching into any market in the next 18 months, ending speculation that some refused to release: “All I can really say [about the PlayStation 3] is that it definitely won't launch in 2004.”
More on everything Sony as we get it.
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