PlayStation 3 to be released in 2006; 7 Million Units Possible

What do the giddy idiots that paid thousands of dollars on eBay for a Xbox 360 tell the industry? That some people, the early adopters of console hardware, are willing to pay almost anything for shiny new gadgets. While Sony works out whether they will price the PlayStation 3 between $400 and $700, gamers are still waiting to hear word on exactly when and how many units will be available later this year.

It was all but confirmed that PlayStation 3 will be available by Christmas with Electronic Arts announcing a Medal of Honor for PlayStation 3 available winter 2006. Afterall, why would the world's largest publisher release a game for a system that's not out? The question isn't if PlayStation 3 launches in 2006, it's when, how much and how many. Andy Parsons of Pioneer, which supports the Blu-ray format, said that as many as 7 million units may be ready for launch. It's unclear what the launch time frame is, but to put that in perspective, Microsoft doesn't expect to sell that many Xbox 360's until more than six months after their November launch.