"According to recent reports the PS3 won’t be launched in the United States until Christmas of 2006, a full year after Microsoft releases their new Xbox 360. One would think the Sony should want to get the PS3 out as soon as possible, especially considering that the company is performing so poorly financially. Throw in the fact that they showed working-ish consoles at trade shows months ago, and many are fairly surprised that the system won’t be out for so long.

I’m sure there are many factors behind the belated release, and I wish I had an inside source to give me the scoop. Sadly, I don’t, so while much of this is speculation, it is speculation that seems very reasonable to me.

Microsoft got beat by Sony when the PS2 came out before Xbox. It’s pretty clear the company feels that fact put them at a disadvantage they could never quite overcome with Xbox. So they decided that a top priority, if not the top priority was that 360 would beat the PS3 out the door. In recent months the race has been on as the two companies showed off their consoles and touted relationships with developers.

It became clear that Microsoft would in fact win the race and get the 360 out first, and Wall Street analysts cheered even as consumers grumbled over likely supply shortages at release and probably through New Years. Presumably the PS3 would follow months behind and this was the advantage Microsoft thought it needed.

The question at Sony must have become, “Why should we just roll over and release the PS3 as soon as it’s ready.” Certainly they don’t want to lose any more ground to Microsoft than they have to, so there should be a sense of urgency to get the console out. But does a June release get them much more than being six months behind Microsoft? Not really.

By waiting until next Christmas they obviously can launch during the next holiday season, which is not to be understated. But by waiting a full year after Microsoft they get more. In late 2006 Sony can position the PS3 in the United States as a next generation console, even more advanced than 360. Will it be? That’s certainly debatable, but considering their architectures are so different it’s just as hard to argue against the claim as it is for it. They’re simply different machines, but to consumers Sony will be able to call the PS3 newer, better, “the next big thing.”" [more]