Aaron ThomasNothing official has been confirmed, but if the German website Gamefront is to be believed, the PlayStation 3 could be out sooner than everyone thinks. Sony chairman and CEO Howard Stringer apparently told the site that the PlayStation 3 would be launching in the spring of 2006.
Obviously this would put a pretty significant dent in Microsoft’s lead, and could possibly get consumers to pass on the Xbox 360 and purchase the more powerful (according to Sony) PS3. This same situation occurred with the Sega Dreamcast, which had a sizable jump on the PS2 but was never able to establish a strong position, and died an early death.
Take this as an unconfirmed rumor at this point, but given that it was allegedly Sony’s chairman dishing the news, it’s worth taking notice.