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Sony's next-generation PlayStation 3 video game console might not appear in key markets this year and could cost the company $900 per unit to produce initially, according to Merrill Lynch analysts quoted in the Financial Times on Sunday.
Sony has indicated a spring launch for its console in Japan and the industry is not expecting a North American launch until November, the FT said.
But Hitoshi Kuriyama of Merrill Lynch in Japan said there are reports that the PS3 could be delayed by between six and 12 months, meaning an autumn launch in Japan and a late 2006 or early 2007 launch in the United States.
Merrill Lynch analysts in San Francisco have estimated that the initial bill of materials for PS3 could approach $900, falling to $320 by three years after launch.
The implications are that Sony could have to take a substantial loss on the PS3 through subsidies or risk low sales at the higher price and hand the advantage to Microsoft to be first to market with its Xbox 360 next-generation console.
Sony is likely to reveal more on its plans for the console at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., in March and the E3 video games show in Los Angeles in May.
LT CRABshit
Sony has indicated a spring launch for its console in Japan and the industry is not expecting a North American launch until November, the FT said.
But Hitoshi Kuriyama of Merrill Lynch in Japan said there are reports that the PS3 could be delayed by between six and 12 months, meaning an autumn launch in Japan and a late 2006 or early 2007 launch in the United States.
Merrill Lynch analysts in San Francisco have estimated that the initial bill of materials for PS3 could approach $900, falling to $320 by three years after launch.
The implications are that Sony could have to take a substantial loss on the PS3 through subsidies or risk low sales at the higher price and hand the advantage to Microsoft to be first to market with its Xbox 360 next-generation console.
Sony is likely to reveal more on its plans for the console at the Game Developers Conference in San Jose, Calif., in March and the E3 video games show in Los Angeles in May.
LT CRABshit
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