PS3 Focus is reporting that Sony is set to announce new details about the Playstation 3 in a keynote at this years Games Developers Conference (GDC). In a speech titled “Playstation 3: Beyond the Box”, Phil Harrison, President, Worldwide Studios, Sony Computer Entertainment, is expected to reveal information about Sony’s next-generation console.

The keynote will cover Sony’s ‘innovative’ plans for the PS3 and look at the opportunity it presents to game developers around the world.

Jamil Moledina, Director of the GDC, was asked in an interview with GameDaily whether Sony would release new information about the Playstation 3:

Mr Moledina replied:

“The answer is yes. In general, platform providers have a unique opportunity at the GDC to share knowledge with and inspire the people who will make or break their consoles, namely the game developers themselves.

With that in mind, this GDC keynote, along with the Nintendo keynote by Satoru Iwata, have both been in development for several months, and contain significant editorial value and developer takeaway.

I strongly encourage you to attend both platform keynotes.”

There is no word yet on whether the Nintendo President, Satoru Iwata, will present any details about their new console, codenamed Revolution. In his keynote titled “Disrupting Development”, Iwata will discuss “…his thoughts on the role Nintendo’s video game systems will play in expanding the market and widening the possibilities for developers.”

All will be revealed soon when the GDC kicks off on March 20 in San Jose, California.

Source: PS3Focus

PS3Focus has posted a Playstation 3 Launch Checklist that I, and apparently other people, have found quite interesting. If you’re at all interested in keeping track of how Sony’s next-gen console is coming along I definitely suggest you check it out.

From the PS3Focus website:

Our Playstation 3 launch checklist has been created to indicate how close the Playstation 3 is to completion while we wait for a release date announcement. The checklist was compiled by reviewing Playstation 3 announcements and news written since the console was first revealed at E3 2005. This Playstation 3 launch checklist will be updated as soon as any new information becomes available.

In the January issue of PSM, the President of Sony CEA made it clear that his company has an ambitious new online strategy. However, the exact details were under lock and key and there was no clear picture of what Sony intends to do… until now.

Incredible details after the jump…

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Most people have been trying to predict the next-gen console war winner on their graphics capability alone. This, my friends, is a mistake.

You only have to look at the current generation of systems to see that the most powerful console does not always equal the most market share. The current Xbox is much more capable than the PS2 but, despite that fact, Sony was the clear “winner” when it comes to market share in the current generation. Nintendo’s GameCube, which is also more capable graphically than the PS2, is a distant third. It should be obvious that it takes more than mere muscle to come out on top.

The next round of console wars is almost upon us. All three hardware manufacturers are trying to position their next-gen system as being “the one”. Now, more than ever, it will take more than snazzy graphical effects and beatiful scenery to end up in first place. All three systems, no matter what anyone tells you, will be more than capable enough to produce incredible graphics, smart a.i., and huge gaming worlds. The “big three” will need to offer something above and beyond graphics to convince gamers that they should spend their hard-earned dollars on their console. This is where I think Microsoft will have an advantage over Nintendo & Sony.

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This week’s Game Over column addresses the recent flurry of news about a PS3 delay — news that Sony, by the way, has categorically denied while failing to produce any tangible evidence to the contrary. The basic reasons behind the delay speculation: the PS3 is very expensive to produce right now, and the specs for the Blu-ray drive haven’t even come in yet.

Chris Morris, the columnist, reminds us of all the pressures on Sony to get the PS3 on the market soon, and discounts a lot of the chicken little delay predictions.

Granted, the possibility of a delayed PS3 launch and prohibitively expensive production costs make for some great headlines and forum chatter, but there are a few other realities to also consider.

Check out the column for his list of reasons why the PS3 can’t afford a delay, and why it won’t matter for Americans anyway. He’s right about one thing: if we get the system before the end of the year, all will be well and good. But he also cites a lot of market pressures that could force Sony to jump the gun. We’ll dissect them here, and explain why they’re not worth the rush.

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