PlayStation 3 to be Unveiled FY 2004, Stunning PSP Line-Up Revealed

Following yesterday's PS3 news, this morning's PlayStation Meeting 2004 in Tokyo had some very exciting revelations.

Following yesterday's revelation that PlayStation 3 will publicly debut at E3 2005 in Los Angeles next May, today saw Sony Computer Entertainment's annual PlayStation Meeting conference kick off in full - with the amazing news that in fact, the PS2 successor will be unveiled to the world before the show, before the end of Sony's Fiscal year - as soon as March.

Editors' Note - There had previously been confusion over whether the new unveiling date was Calendar 2004 or Fiscal 2004, though images from the conference we received after this article first went live (see below) would indicate that this is in fact a FY timescale. Apologies for any confusion resulting from the earlier report. The appropriate changes have been made to this article.

The exciting news brings the next generation even closer to tangibility, pulling the scoop on what PlayStation 3 will actually offer - and perhaps what it will look like - to just around the corner. It also increases the chances of Microsoft deciding to play its hand on an Xbox 2 unveiling - at least in official name/specs form - as early as September this year, repoets suggest, when the company's European X04 event is scheduled to take place. Microsoft has continually said it will be first to market with the Xbox successor.

Ken Kutaragi could get PS3 on Japanese shelves for Christmas 2005, with European launch following in Early 2006.

PlayStation 3 Schedule

The first generation PS3 development kits - still carrying the TOOL name first sported by the PS2 kits, will be shipping to developers at the start of FY2005, although it has already been reported that some leading publishers already have demos up and running on systems that are simulating the expected PS3 specs.

PS3 to be unveiled at the end FY 2004 - with full pubic exhibition at E3 2005 next May - and playable titles likely at TGS 2005 next September.

Sony's presentation at the event showed a PlayStation timeline, and in fact the PS3 was referred to as "Next System", suggesting that there may be a completely new name for the machine - although we find that an unlikely prospect considering the brand investment in "PlayStation" to date.

The timeline revealed that the Next System will premiere before the end of FY 2004. But with a public exhibition of the machine now confirmed to follow a couple of months later at E3 in May 2005, and software expected at the following Tokyo Game Show next September, it's quite likely that the premiere around March/April 2005 time will be relatively small, similar to the way in which PS2 and PSP were both first officially announced.

As we reported yesterday, it is possible that PlayStation 3 might actually go on sale in Japan in time for Christmas 2005, judging by timescale-related nattering from SCEI boss Ken Kutaragi. Should that prove to be the case, the software line-up would be pretty modest, as developers would have had less than a year with the full kits - although that problem didn't exactly stop PS2 shipping early and instantly flying off Japanese shelves.

Whatever the case, the release of the machine during 2006 in western markets is something you can pretty much take to the bank.

PlayStation Portable Update

Meanwhile, there were some interesting developments on the PlayStation Portable front as well. Sony unveiled a suitably impressive line-up of first and thirdparty software, many of which are scheduled to debut with the machine in Japan later this year.

Support from pretty much every publisher is well underway, with EA titles like Need for Speed Underground and Burnout included on the list, and even a Konami offering with Winning Eleven 8 - known as one Pro Evolution Soccer 4 on western shores - which is obviously fantastic news.

New PSP Line-Up (click to enlarge)

Gran Turismo 4, WipEout Pure, Meal Gear Acid, Formula One 2004, Ape Escape and Ridge Racer, also make their way back onto the impressive and always growing list (see image above).

It was also confirmed that PSP will boast 32MB of RAM - more than initially expected, and equal to that of the PS2.

The Talkman birdie that translates into nine different languages

Perhaps most excitingly, the predictions of Tetsuya Mizuguchi in our recent video interview came true today, as a product was unveiled that turns PlayStation Portable into a formidable multi-language translator - or perhaps Mizuguchi-san was privy to something special?!

The Talkman will launch with PSP, it was announced, and uses voice recognition software to interpret what is spoken into the handset and spew it back out in one of nine different languages. The software boasts a cute little bird character, who does all the translating, and stars in the 'educational' segments of the product. Quite an incredible little application really...

Adam Doree
Director, Kikizo.com