PS3 Update (Diagnosis: Not good)

I have been off the RSS reader for a couple of days while I sort-out what i want to do with my life, but just reading the PS3 headlines today it doesn't sound good for Sony. Here are just a few things I read today:

• PS3 Blue-Ray drive 25% slower than the 360's.
  This shouldn't bee too much of a problem because of the massive hard drive the PS3 has, which gives the possibility of pre-caching, but this issue is compounded by the fact the PS3 only has 256MB of RAM compared to the 360's 512MB. Sony talks about bigger textures, but they have failed to provide the space to put them.
  
  
• Delayed Launch In Europe.
  Look for them on eBay sometime March 2007.
  
  
• Shortage of units for launch.
  There will only be 400,000 PS3 units available for the US launch. Microsoft sold 326,000 XBox360 units in their first week of the US launch. So if we assume that Sony will be doing large boated shipments like they usually do, then this is going to be a big problem for anybody trying to get one before 2007.
  
  
• No 1080p games at launch.
  The launch lineup is already weak so this won't come as a shock to anybody. But the odd thing about Sony's hyped HD resolution is that although the screen resolution has 40% more pixels on the screen than 720p, because the refresh rate is slower it makes it less suitable for watching fast moving video like sports and video games. 1080p is best suited for nature shows and Opera.
  
  
• No HDMI Cable In The Box
  One of those really annoying things about buying cheap electronics is that sometimes they don't include the necessary cables to use them right out of the box. You get your new DVD player home, open the box and then realise you have to go back to the shop you bought it at to buy the correct cable to connect the player to your TV. Well anybody wanting to use the PS3's HDMI connection right out of the box will have to do just that because Sony won't be including one. They will be including a composite cable, but because of the perceived cost of owning a PS3, I think many customers will feel a little ticked off.

The interesting thing I find in all this is that despite what is happening in the news analysts are still predicting a PS3 win. This all assumes Sony has market allegiance with many customers. I think that is a flawed assumption and that consumers don't care who makes their console as long as it has the games they want.