Hardcore video game fans are already queuing outside many electronic retail stores for their chance to snap one of the 80,000 Sony has made available.
The PlayStation 3 is the second of the next-generation consoles to launch and comes more than a year after Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
The launch is widely seen as a huge gamble for the electronics giant.
The PlayStation 3 is being sold as two units. The most expensive version has a 60 gigabyte hard drive with a built-in Wi-Fi and costs 60,000 yen (£270). The cheaper version has a 20GB hard drive, lacks the Wi-Fi and will cost 49,980 yen (£222). European prices are expected to be higher than direct comparisons suggest unfortunately…
Both versions include a wireless controller (named SIXAXIS); a Blu-Ray high-definition DVD drive and a HDMI port so they can work with a high-definition display. Buying a PS3 also gives owners free access to the online PlayStation Network where they can download PSone games.
Sony expects five games to be available at launch including Ridge Racer 7, Mobile Suit Gundam: Target in Sight, Genji, and Resistance: Fall of Man.
Many online news agencies have reported that Japanese PlayStation fans were already starting to queue outside electronic stores to try to be the first to get hold of one of the new consoles.
The PlayStation 3 was intended to go on sale in early 2006 but problems with production – namely the manufacturing of the Blu-Ray drives and shortages of key components – forced a delay. The European launch of the console has been pushed back to March 2007.
This has also meant that there are only 80,000 consoles for gamers in Japan (twenty percent less than expected). Sony said 400,000 would be available for the US launch on November 17th (a week later). Despite the shortages, Sony said it was confident of shipping six million PS3s by the end of March 2007.
Although Sony has dominated the home console market since the launch of the first PlayStation in 1994 its lead is under greater threat than ever before. Main rival Microsoft released its Xbox 360 console in November 2005. By the end of 2006 Microsoft hopes to have sold about ten million Xbox 360s.
Also due to launch in November is Nintendo’s Wii console, which is far cheaper than the PlayStation 3 and the Xbox 360. It goes on sale in the US on November 19th.
Analysts expect Sony to lose money on every console sold for some time to come.
“For all you know, it may take Sony five years to get back the money it’s invested in PS3,” said Mitsuhiro Osawa, analyst for Mizuho Investors Securities, “even ten years if it doesn’t watch out.”
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