4,000 PS3 dev kits shipped – Stringer hints at retail slippage

Ominous omission as developer reassurance sought

Posted by Staff
Stringer on the WKD
Stringer on the WKD
Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas yesterday, Sony heavyweight Howard Stringer failed to assert the previously published spring release date for PlayStation 3, furthering expectations that the highly-anticipated console won't be on sale in the early part of this year.

Stringer simply said that Sony's new machine will debut 'later this year', leading many to believe that SCE has abandoned its original launch plans. Indeed, there is the belief emerging that Sony never intended to launch in spring, merely offering the period to consumers in an attempt to distract them from Microsoft's frenzied Xbox 360 launch.

Stringer was joined on stage by Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Kaz Hirai who also avoided making any mention of a ship date for the PlayStation 3. Hirai's appearance consisted of outlining the support program in place for developers of PlayStation 3 software, announcing that around 4,000 development kits for the Cell-powered monster have been shipped.

However, the resounding note of the somewhat lacklustre presentation came from Stringer's words, 'later this year'. We contacted Sony yesterday in the wake of the CES address with a simple question - When is the PlayStation 3 expected to launch in any territory? We received no response at time of press.

You can also read our coverage on the reaction to Sony's wall of silence, and a full, in-depth report on Bill Gates' CES revelations.
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Comments

Joji 6 Jan 2006 11:59
1/6
Well at least the dev kit are out of the gate. We'll soon know what it can do and what developers can do with it.

I reckon a xmas 2006 launch is more likely.
LUPOS 6 Jan 2006 14:36
2/6
are these alpha or beta or final kits?
since this is the first i have hear dof it i magine its not final... i imagien they woudl make a big deal when they send out final dev kits... but if these 4000 are only alpha the launch is a loong ways off... sep-oct earliest... and thats probably just for japan... unless sony plans a world wide release (which i doubt they could muster) MS will have such a huge lead in the US and Euope it wont even be funny... now... all we need is to hear if 360 sales go up when doa4 hits japan.

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OptimusP 6 Jan 2006 15:56
3/6
I'm geussing beta-kits, not yet final but developers do have all sorts of papers indicating what the final one could do.
Last reports indicate that developers are getting near-final Revolution kits and its full of very nice surprises.

And MS lead...MS is screwing something up with their supply's... on CNN mister Gates said that March shipments should be expected in June and summer shipments on chrismas 2006... and here on spong he said that Xbox360 supply problems are only going to be solved when 2007 hits. What the s**t are they doing? Lowering production on purpose so because their loss per unit is way higher then expected? Their production facalities aren't ready yet so they outsourced everything to alternative plants that jacked up the price and lowered the production yields?
If you look at worldwide sales of the Xbox360 they haven't sold a million in 2005 because they didn't had a million.

Something is fishy...
codeninja 6 Jan 2006 17:18
4/6
The dev kit can mean anything, I mean ANYTHING. When Sony first shipped out dev kit for PS2 5 years ago, it was more of slideshow viewer than actual dev kit they imply. You couldn't run the game on it at any reasonable speed, but rather watch your game showing in slideshow matter. Practically, no way you can make game out of that, and developers had to wait for usable dev kit "revisions". I'm not saying that's the case, since I don't have PS3 dev kit, but I'd like to clarify that "shipped dev kits" means as much as if not less "shipped 10 million consoles", other common sony style comment.
vault 13 7 Jan 2006 05:43
5/6
I like pie. I just wanted to throw that out there. That and the fanboy meter has been through the roof as of late. I do think the PS3 will launch by summer or late summer to have a strong line up by the holiday season. OR more realistically when Unreal Tournament 2K7 is done, the PS3 will launch. I honestly like it better than Quake AND it looks much better than Quake does. Granted Quake looks great as well. It's like comparing Mandy Moore to Britney Spears. Both are hot, but one is just that much more hot.

Potential PS3 Launch Lineup:

Unreal Tournament 2K7
Tony Hawk (whatever version is out)
Tekken 6
MGS 4
Obligatory sports titles
Obligatory not nearly as good as Tetris puzzle game
Ridge Racer 6 XX Super Hyper Tournament Gold Silver Platinum Triple Go Go Edition
Prey
Splinter Cell 4
etc...
fluffstardx 8 Jan 2006 15:43
6/6
I wouldn't bet on Prey. Or Ridge Racer 6. Or Splinter Cell 4, for that matter.

Prey, IIRC, is PC and 360 only. RR6 will be redundant by PS3 launch, and ditto SC4.

The launch looks slim so far, and that is if they get it working at all by then. Judging by the rumours, nobody's got any truly stable code yet...
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