PS3 IS OUT!



The Play Station 3 is out in Tokyo with only 100,000 of them available on day one in Japan due to productions problems with the high-definition DVD player.

Sony was forced to delay the global launch of the PS3 by about six months due to problems with the high-definition DVD player, giving rival Microsoft a one-year head start with its Xbox 360 machine.

The Japanese company pushed back the rollout again until March 2007 in Europe as it grappled with production problems.

Sony expects its game division to make a loss of about 200 billion yen (1.7 billion dollars) this fiscal year after it cut the price of the PS3 in Japan by one-fifth over complaints it was too expensive.

Priced at 49,980 yen for the standard 20-gigabyte hard disc, the PS3 is approaching twice the price of Microsoft's cheapest Xbox 360 at 29,800 yen, and Nintendo's Wii, which launches in December at 25,000 yen.

Despite the delay, Sony has maintained its forecast to ship six million PS3s worldwide by March 2007 -- a target some analysts fear will be hard to hit.

"I think they will have to substantially lower the current selling price to about 250 dollars or even lower and try to convince the market it's not only a game but also a good DVD recorder with Blu-ray technology," said John Yang, Standard and Poor's equity analyst.

"But it's a catch-22 situation, because if they cut the price of the PS3 they're going to increase the losses in their game division," he added.

Part of the article taken from Channelnewsasia.com
PlayStation 3 flies off shelves in boost to ailing Sony
Posted: 12 November 2006 0603 hrs

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