PlayStation 3 up, PlayStation 2 down

Bloomberg is reporting that Sony's financial results are likely to be down nearly 22% for the fourth quarter last year due to problems with production for the PlayStation 2. The severe shortages in Emotion Engine chips may have been a key factor. At the same time, Sony are now reportedly examining the possibility of a PlayStation 3 some time in 2002, due to the lack of broadband connectivity at this time, something they had not counted on. When the PS2 was originally envisaged, Sony planned for a market dominated by broadband Internet connections, and while some of us already have such capabilities, the majority does not. Ken Kutaragi, boss of Sony Computer Entertainment, is already speaking out about the Emotion Engine 2 chip (which he claims is due in 2002), and is discussing post-games functionality in terms of the PS2's successor. In a recent interview with Scientific American, The Register writes, "Kutaragi re-iterates the old PlayStation 2 vision, but links it to PlayStation 3. When that console ships, we can expect it to hook up to email, online shopping and all the other broadband services Sony originally expected the PS2 would connect us to." In a perverse way, Sony is now in a race with Microsoft to get its next next-generation console ready for mass-market consumption in time to stand a chance against the Xbox's strategic living room placement. Of course, frowns will now permeate themselves on the faces of just about everyone who bought into the PS2 vision, and who can blame them? If this latest information is true, they have been burned. Related Feature - PlayStation 2 UK Launch Coverage