Sony PlayStation 3 to arrive by mid-2006

Electronic Arts' CFO Warren Jenson has told an investment conference in the USA that the company currently expects the Xbox 2 and PS3 to launch within six months of each other, in a window beginning in late 2005.

Speaking at the Goldman Sachs Communacopia XIII Conference earlier this week, Jenson said that EA is expecting to see Microsoft launching Xbox 2 for the holiday season in 2005, with PS3 following no more than six months afterwards.

While Jenson did qualify his statements by saying that EA doesn't have all the information about the launches as yet, and that the information they do have isn't perfect, his comments will be seen as further confirmation of the widely rumoured Xbox 2 launch timescale.

They also place the PlayStation 3 closer on the timeline than some had expected; confusion over Sony's development plans for the console has led some commentators to push their guesses on the date out as far as winter 2006, but Jenson suggested that the firm may even launch as early as late 2005 to avoid giving Microsoft a significant head-start.

More info at Games Industry