A couple weeks ago, Microsoft dominated the headlines with Origami, Vista and other Tom Foolery. Now it's Sony's turn. There's a storm brewing on the horizon, and it's called PlayStation 3. Sony has finally divulged some real details about its upcoming next-generation console, so let's get to it...

PlayStation 3 Set to Launch -Sort of

Personally, I can't stand it when multi-billion-dollar corporations don't heed the wisdom of talking heads and scribes - like me. Last week, I explicitly told Sony NOT to set a definitive launch date, and advised the company to take its time to work out Blu-ray issues and other kinks. And Sony didn't listen to a word of it. Can you believe that?!?!

And it gets worse, because Sony went so far as to proclaim that it will sell 6 million PS3 units by the end of the first quarter of 2007. So if the console launches in November, that gives Sony at most five months to make that aggressive goal, which means the company needs to sell more than 1 million units a month - roughly 40,000 consoles a day - during that span. If the holiday shopping season is sluggish, then Sony may end up way off the mark.

Frankly, after all the delays and rumoured production issues, Sony doesn't need to flirt with that kind of aggravation and disappointment. And that is why I argued that Sony should simply sit out this year and shoot for the summer or fall of 2007. This way, the company would give itself more time to polish the product, work out the bugs, and rally developers. Sony could then have some blazing hot PS3-exclusive titles to pull console fans away from the Xbox 360. Look at the current game landscape - there is absolutely no reason to rush this thing out the door.

Blame the Media

Like Girls Gone Wild, Sony offered additional PS3 details that were basically just quick flashes intended to whet our appetites. So what did we learn last week? First, the new console's 60 GB hard drive will not, I repeat, not be optional. Some had speculated that Sony would follow Microsoft's lead and make the hard drive an optional add-on device. Sony says the component can be upgraded, but all PS3 units will require at least the 60 GB minimum.

As far back as 2003, I can remember several IT professionals buzzing about the plans for PS3, saying how the console would essentially become a home media server. It appears that their predictions were correct; Sony says that the PS3's hard drive will allow the device to store and manage different types of data and media from other devices. This could help differentiate the system from Xbox 360 in the long run, because there are still people out there wondering if they can load Windows XP on Xbox 360.

Speaking of operating systems, how's this for a salvo from Sony? PS3 can run Linux! That's right - it's March of the Penguins, Ballmer! I, for one, am extremely interested to see how many folks will actually run a Linux or alternative OS on their PS3 drives, as opposed to Windows XP/Vista...