Analysts Think Up PS3 Delay

Several Ifs and Coulds separate fact from fiction in new research note.

There are just months to go now until Microsoft springs into the next generation with the global launch of the Xbox 360 this Christmas, but Sony is only a step behind.

The company is planning to release the PlayStation 3 in Japan by the end of March and in the US later in the year. Recently, however, analysts have concocted a scenario in which the US (and presumably European) release of the console would be delayed to 2007.

It all comes down to pricing.

Analyst firm Wedbush Morgan Securities said in a research note, reported by GameSpot, that if the Xbox 360 launch doesn't go as well as planned, say because of poorer-than-expected game sales, and if the PlayStation 2 is discounted to $99 (likely, thanks to their low cost to make) and consequently steal's Xbox 360's thunder, then Sony could hold back on releasing the PlayStation 3 outside Japan this year to avoid dealing with the inevitable stock shortages that plague console releases.

That's a lot of ifs, the biggest being the assumption of the failure of the Xbox 360 launch. Microsoft has worked had on getting its own games ready for launch and also to get other game makers up to speed. Wedbush Morgan Securities itself says it sees the Xbox 360 doing well.

So don't fret. It's an unlikely scenario, but one worth keeping in mind anyway when the Xbox 360 launches at the end of the year.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games