PSP delayed until Q2 2005??

This article from Eurogamer.net:

http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=56386

"Activision CEO Bobby Kotick has told investors that he doesn't believe that the PSP will launch in North America until Q2 2005, prompting fresh fears that the arrival of Sony's forthcoming handheld console will slip once again.

Kotick's statements - which could place the launch of the PSP as late as June 2005 - were reported in a note from American Technology Research analyst P.J. McNealy, who said that it is "at best a 50-50 proposition that Sony will make its scheduled holiday 2004 Japan launch."

Any delay in Japan would push the North American launch of the console out of the March quarter - and consequently out of Sony's 2005 fiscal year - and would also have a knock-on effect on the European launch of the hardware.

Sony denies that there has been any change to its launch plans for the PlayStation Portable. The next hard information about the console is likely to emerge at the Tokyo Games Show at the end of September, where the device will be playable for the first time and final details of the Japanese launch date and price are expected to be announced.

While the excitement both within the industry and among consumers about the PSP is enormous, there has been frustration at Sony's failure to provide an indication of the price of the system. Consensus has suggested that a price point of between $250 and $350 is likely, but Atari CEO Bruno Bonnell stirred up a hornets nest a few months ago when he said that he believes a $500 price tag is possible.

Developers have also complained that final dev kits failed to materialise on schedule, while question marks remain over Sony's plans for a PSP online service, support for movie releases on UMD, and crucially, the battery life of the system in real world conditions."

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Only 50-50 to make to Japanese lanch on time (pre-christmas). Seems unlikely to me, it's too important for Sony.

Looks like we may have to wait until Autumn 2005 to see the European release.

Bah!

Afterall it'll just be a new Sony fiasco that everyone will end up buying ( except me ).

This is a "déjà-vu" .

Lord knows if they're going to make it to market on time, the PSP is highly ambitious hardware wise.

All I do know is that if they come out well below cost for the unit and just about match the Nintendo DS at the $199 price point, they're going to win the war.

If not, they're going to get their lunch eaten, even by a lackluster offering like the DS.

I have, at best, zero interest in the PSP but I do have a few thoughts:

1) Sales will be high, initially (depending on the price point) but depending on the product physical quality, negative backlash from certain groups of the public will eventually come forth. We are seeing this with the PS2.
If Sony learned anything from the PSX, they should hold off until they can deliver the promised goods. If they promise gold, change it to nickel and then deliver tin, even the diehards will become agitated.
Then again...

2) Sony doesn't need to rush the market. Systems were available before the PlayStation machines, and they didn't last (we won't get into this discussion - you all know why.) As long as their marketing arrives in conjunction with the DS, their actual handheld doesn't have to.

3) Since the DS isn't the GBA replacement - Nintendo plans on releasing a sequel to the Advanced unit, Sony may want to release the PSP somewhere in between the two. Flood the market to force out one of the Nintendo machines, while the two compete against each other as well - may be a good idea for Sony to time the PSP this way.
We can also assume that they will also be willing to time it in relation to the home consoles. This could be very interesting if Nintendo keeps up their backwards-compatibility functions, on both the DS, GBA 2, GCN and the code-named Revolution. Sony would have a few options - release PS1 games on digital sticks, condense and release PS2 games on digital sticks or devise a way to connect the PS2 and PSP together and market the hell out of it.

4) Great sig. photo, Atrophyed.

It's Lather. Rinse. Repeat. for Sony again. I'm just waiting for the announcement of cut features.

Well, whenever the PSP comes out, I just hope i'm not in another line and the same dude goes into a spaztic seizure with yet again no one to step out of line to help him.

I hope he brings someone this time to keep his place in line.

GoSpits said:

4) Great sig. photo, Atrophyed.

Click to expand...

Lumpy rules.



An HTF game wouldn't be a bad idea at all... even if in a Sony system !!

Atrophyed said:

Lumpy rules.



An HTF game wouldn't be a bad idea at all... even if in a Sony system !!

Click to expand...

If ever made, it'd probably be turned into a pseudo-3D game like Scooby-Doo. Screw that - I want my HTF either as its current, movie format or a 2D Action-Adventure game (read: Blazing Dragons, LucasArts games, etc.)

As for the PSP, all I can dig up are rumoured and speculated costs. Does anyone know how much it might cost Sony to make per machine, approximately? Even a detailed spec sheet of its innards might grant some insight into this.
Perhaps if some of the components aren't even available as of yet (read: PS3 - and yes, I know E3 had a unit but that means little,) we may have a better idea of its true release date.

I think they want to work on getting the battery life good.

6 hours is good (great if you're on a cross country/atlantic flight

I hope the PSP never comes out, fuckin' SONY!