wraggster
January 17th, 2006, 17:21
Nothing tickles our morning gaming fancy quite like a good hard analyst's prediction, and this morning we've got a cracker, with US analysts now apparently lining up to predict that the PS3 may not be out until March 2007 in Europe.
Now while all such predictions should be taken with the requisite amount of sodium, analyst Evan Wilson, quoted in Interactive Investor, said that he be believed the PS3 would launch in summer in Japan with a million units, with a US launch of one million units 'most likely' for November. Wilson tips the PS3's European debut to follow in March 2007 - presumably with roughly the same number of units for us poor Euro slobs.
So far, so fairly interesting and while of course these things should never be taken as gospel, what is intriguing is that Wilson has gone so far as to actually name unit allocations. If he's to be believed, there'll be a scramble for PS3s that would make the Xbox launch look like it was overflowing with milk and unit allocation honey.
Although Sony has long said it would launch the PS3 in spring 2006, many discerning games watchers believe this can only be in Japan and it may indeed be lucky to make that time frame. Overseas markets like the US and Europe will almost certainly face delayed gratification similar to the PSP launch and Wilson's predictions would certainly appear to fit int๋ that time frame.
Whatever way you slice the PS3 launch carrot, it seems good news for Microsoft with a lot riding on the PS3 launch for Sony as it looks to the PlayStation 3 to restore the company's profitability.
However, whether any of this is more than inspired guesswork, we simply can't tell. Analysts do the stuff for a living and they're not always right and perhaps analyst William Drewry of Credit Suisse First Boston sums it best when he says: "The decision as to whether to delay the PS3 launch has yet to be made and is dependent on improving its chip yield."
Now while all such predictions should be taken with the requisite amount of sodium, analyst Evan Wilson, quoted in Interactive Investor, said that he be believed the PS3 would launch in summer in Japan with a million units, with a US launch of one million units 'most likely' for November. Wilson tips the PS3's European debut to follow in March 2007 - presumably with roughly the same number of units for us poor Euro slobs.
So far, so fairly interesting and while of course these things should never be taken as gospel, what is intriguing is that Wilson has gone so far as to actually name unit allocations. If he's to be believed, there'll be a scramble for PS3s that would make the Xbox launch look like it was overflowing with milk and unit allocation honey.
Although Sony has long said it would launch the PS3 in spring 2006, many discerning games watchers believe this can only be in Japan and it may indeed be lucky to make that time frame. Overseas markets like the US and Europe will almost certainly face delayed gratification similar to the PSP launch and Wilson's predictions would certainly appear to fit int๋ that time frame.
Whatever way you slice the PS3 launch carrot, it seems good news for Microsoft with a lot riding on the PS3 launch for Sony as it looks to the PlayStation 3 to restore the company's profitability.
However, whether any of this is more than inspired guesswork, we simply can't tell. Analysts do the stuff for a living and they're not always right and perhaps analyst William Drewry of Credit Suisse First Boston sums it best when he says: "The decision as to whether to delay the PS3 launch has yet to be made and is dependent on improving its chip yield."