Merrill Lynch: PS3 may be delayed 1 year?

Industry analysts at Merrill Lynch are suggesting that the launch of the PS3 may be delayed between 6 and 12 months, despite news from Sony last week that they are ‘pledging’ a 2006 launch. The report from the analyst also estimates that the initial materials cost for Sony per unit will be as high as $900, which again raises doubts on the initial launch price, which is either going to be considerably higher than first expected, or that Sony will be making roughly $300 loss per unit sold if they sell at the expected $599.

A delay of between 6 – 12 months may mean a late 2006 launch for Japan, followed by early 2007 for US.

Although the News.com article linked to above does not state a reason for the delay, an article on TheRegister with the same news says that Sony are waiting for the copy protection scheme for Blu-Ray disks to be finalized, and if it is not in time for an early 2006 launch then they will be forced to delay before they can ship with PS3, which will include a BluRay drive.

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