Sony PS3 copies Microsoft's XBox 360 rollout plan a year later

According to a variety of sources, the Sony Playstation 3 launch has been delayed to November 3, 2006, when Sony will mimic Microsoft and launch world-wide. Sony also has promised a slightly more aggressive production plan, expecting to ship six million units by the end of March 2007. Microsoft, you will remember, promised 5.5 to 6 million units by six months from its November 22, 2005 launch date, meaning we can check up on its progress toward that goal on April 22.

We noted last month that Sony should launch when the market, not the product is ready. We had also noted that summer is not exactly the best market for videogame sales. This schedule just makes the Christmas 2006 target that much more explicit. Note that there should be about eight weeks of availability before Christmas, instead of Microsoft's about four. Assuming production is on track, that should result in sales of about three million units prior to Christmas, which will be much more positive than Microsoft's less than one million.

We always said that Sony's launch schedule for PS3 was about maximizing the market and minimizing its development risk on what is known to be a very aggressive platform. Now we get to see how that risk plays out. But it's clear Sony is using up its lifelines if it wants to retain its lead.

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