Sony Corp. will delay the release of its new PlayStation 3 video game console until early November because development of some of the technology is behind schedule, Japanese newspapers said on Wednesday. Sony's shares fell 1.6 percent after the reports, which said consumer electronics makers and movie companies have been unable to reach agreement on the copy protection technology for Blu-ray Disc drives. The PS3 will use such a drive.
The PS3 launch date has been the subject of heavy speculation in the industry as expectations are high for the machine, which will have cutting-edge technology and is expected to enable users to play games and movies as well as download videos from the Internet.
"It's now a full year behind Xbox which is a concern," said KBC Securities analyst Hiroshi Kamide, referring to rival Microsoft Corp.'s Xbox 360 video game console.
Most analysts were not surprised by the reports as they had expected the PS3 to be delayed until late summer or autumn.
