Could the Nintendo Revolution and the PS3 launch the same time? It's beginning to look more and more likely. Both Nintendo and Sony have been less than forthcoming with any real concrete information. Rumors have set release dates anywhere from March to sometime next year. However, the latest rumors have both consoles to launch around American Thanksgiving.
Nintendo is planning on releasing their "revolutionary" new system this fall, near Thanksgiving to be precise. This release date is drawn from new quotes from Nintendo president Satoru Iwata who stated, "We can't disclose the Revolution's release period yet, but we have no plans to miss out on the year-end sales battle. As for North America, we need to release it by Thanksgiving, or otherwise we won't receive support from the retail industry. So the Revolution will be released prior to that period."
In regards to the issue of when the Sony PS3 will launch, Forbes Magazine said: "Sony's last word on this remains spring 2006, but almost nobody believes it — at least not for the North American launch — because of a history of delays for previous products. Thanksgiving looks to be a better bet, at least to Evan Wilson, an analyst with Pacific Crest Securities."
Could we see both the Nintendo Revolution and the PS3 this thanksgiving? What kind of marketing strategy would this be? Microsoft was fortunate to launch their Xbox 360 with absolutely no competition. The head-start allowed the 360 to gain ground on the competition; however because of massive shortages, only 600,000 consoles have been sold so far.
If both the Nintendo Revolution and the PS3 launch this thanksgiving they will not have the same luxury. Instead, all 3 consoles will have to split the market share.
By June of this year, Microsoft hope to sell 4.5 to 5 million Xbox 360's worldwide. That means both Nintendo and Sony will have a lot of catching up to do. It would seem to delay the launch of either console to 2007 would be a marketing nightmare, no matter how impressive the Revolution controller is, or how powerful the PS3 might be. Peter Moore of Microsoft has recently said that they "will pull Halo 3 when the time is right," which many believe will happen alongside the PS3 launch.
It seems unlikely that both consoles will launch the same time. Perhaps the Revolution will see a mid to late September launch while the PS3 takes the November slot (or even later).
It is this author's opinion that both consoles will hit the shelves 2006. Though the question remains, when?
For more news, check out our Xbox 360 site or our Nintendo Revolution site.
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