Late Night Consoling

At today's PlayStation Business Briefing, Sony has verified earlier reports that PS3 has been delayed until November of this year. However, contradicting prior statements that the company is not planning a simultaneous worldwide release, PlayStation boss Ken Kutaragi confirmed that the console will in fact launch worldwide in November. Specifically confirmed territories getting the console by the end of 2006 include North America, Asia, Europe, and Australasia. The company plans to ship six million PS3 units in 2006, with a million more shipped each subsequent month. If this goal is met, it will significantly outshine the Xbox 360 launch, which is still suffering from rampant shortages.

Additional announcements made so far:

- PS3 will utilize a 60GB hard drive. The drive is upgradable, and will run Linux. Apparently like the Xbox 360, it will allow the console to serve as a media hub in some way. All games will be developed under the assumption that a hard drive is present.

- Full PS1 and PS2 backwards compatibility has been re-confirmed. As with Xbox 360, the console will upsample legacy games to high definition resolutions, but full support will be built into the system rather than added.

- Final PS3 development kits will ship in June. Coincidentally, that is the same month final Revolution kits will be reaching developers.

- PS3's online service will have a basic version available free to all users. It will feature services such as matchmaking, voice chat, and purchasable content. IGN reports that GameSpy has been contracted to contribute to the online implementation, with the assistance of Sony Online Entertainment. GameSpy was also tapped to contribute to Nintendo's DS online service.

- No games were showcased at the event.

PSP updates:

- PSP will be getting its own EyeToy peripheral, with a version of the game EyeToy Play as well as video chat software.

- A $200 basic version of the PSP package will ship this month in North America. The standard $250 SKU will remain; the cheaper option will contain fewer accessories.

- Some time this spring, the browser will support Flash.

- PSP owners will gain the ability to download various emulated PS1 games onto the system, to be stored on Memory Sticks.

- PSP will gain a GPS receiver peripheral. A GPS-enabled version of Hot Shots Golf will be launched as well.

PS2 updates:

- Given its continued strong sales and dominant position in the marketplace, Sony has no plans to lower PS2's existing $149.99 price point.

Kutaragi updates:

- I don't know.

- Today's first PS3 tidbit comes straight from Sony. Recently, a Koei exec revealed that Sony will be holding a publisher-only PS3 meeting. That meeting will happen at 3:00 pm in Tokyo, or midnight tonight in Shack terms. Today, Sony announced that, contrary to prior statements, the event has been changed to an actual press conference. This suggests that the company has significant information to reveal, as opposed to the development-related information that was expected up until now. Any major news will be appended to this edition of Late Night Consoling and covered fully tomorrow. Many sources are expecting Sony to give a glimpse at some of PS3's launch titles, including Untold Legends: Dark Kingdom from Sony Online Entertainment, screenshots of which were leaked last week. The manufacturer could also be planning to announce...

- A possible PS3 delay? Months of insider speculation at a PS3 launch delay beyond Sony's oft-quoted "spring" release period came to a head today. Japanese newspaper Nihon Keizai Shimbun reported that the console will see a six month delay, putting the Japanese release around November 2006. The stated reason for the delay is difficulty in finalizing the system's Blu-ray copy protection.

Given Sony's traditionally long launch windows, as well as the company's recent denial that it is planning a simultaneous launch, as well as the general difficulties in bringing enough highly anticipated hardware to bear in multiple major territories, it seems safe to assume that if in fact PS3 does see a November release in Japan, North America and Europe will not be seeing it until 2007. Given Nintendo's insistance that it will be releasing Revolution in time for Thanksgiving in North America, this would mean that Sony's console will be the last major player to market in its generation.

Nihon Keizai Shimbun's article cited only an anonymous source. Given the huge number of anonymous (and named) sources that have come forward recently to claim Sony will be missing its planned release period, the reasons for this particular article's legitimacy are somewhat questionable, though Nihon Keizai Shimbun is known as a leading news source. Speaking to Reuters, a Blu-ray spokesman was unaware of any particular delay with the copy protection, stating, "As far as we are concerned, everything's on track." However, a Sony representative last month stated that a delay due to Blu-ray complications is possible. Of course, in all likelihood, the delay will be officially confirmed or denied in about two hours, when Sony's Ken Kutaragi addresses the Japanese press.

Publisher Majesco (Nasdaq: COOL) has just announced its first financial results since its recent restructuring around budget and handheld titles. The company saw first quarter revenue of $24.1M compared to $30.7M in revenue for the first quarter of 2005, with a net loss of $2.6M from $400,000 year over year. Majesco points to the transition of the company's product line as a major factor in the decreased revenues. Still, new Majesco CEO Morris Sutton said, "We are pleased with our results for the quarter and the progress we are making towards implementing our new product strategy." He also noted that this is the first quarter in which Majesco saw a measurable portion of its revenue coming from international sales.

At this point, the company seems to have almost entirely moved its product line over to the handheld arena. While Appaloosa's Jaws Unleashed (PS2, Xbox, PC) is still in the works, the company's other upcoming and recent releases are planned for DS, PSP, and GBA. - Press release.

Capcom has finally confirmed that the rumored reissue of its well-received title Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney (DS) is indeed a reality. A new run of the game is already available from many physical and online retail locations. If you've been contemplating paying double retail price for a used copy online, you're in luck. Seriously, if you have any interest in adventure games, consider giving this a shot. I finally beat the fifth and final case the other day, and it was absolutely amazing. It's presented as a courtroom drama, but really it's an interactive detective novel in disguise.

There have been quite a few announcement related to budget reissues lately, which comes as little surprise given the aging but still current hardware in both the home and portable console spaces. The Game Boy Advance is the latest system to join in, with three Mario titles joining the budget-priced Player's Choice line. This will represent the first time Player's Choice, traditionally used for Nintendo's home consoles, comes to GBA. Super Mario Advance: Super Mario Bros. 2, Super Mario Advance 3: Yoshi's Island, and Mario & Luigi: Superstar Saga will each be repacked in Player's Choice-adorned boxes and sold for an MSRP of $19.99. This should also come as good news for gamers previously unable to find new copies of Superstar Saga for any price, as the game seems to have been out of print for some time.

1UP has a pair of next-gen editorials up: Jeremy Parish's Speaking Up, going in depth with Sony's current and future plans for PS3, and Chris Kohler's The Holy Trinity, looking at each of the three major players in the upcoming generation.