PS3 still in hiding

A delay to the launch of PlayStation 3 looks even more likely today, after Sony decided not to unveil the next-gen machine at this week's Destination PlayStation in Miami. Destination PlayStation is an annual, invite-only event in which third-party software publishers try to sell retail buyers on their upcoming products. In other words, it would have made sense forPS3 to be there.

Sony has continually stated that PS3 would be released - in Japan, at least - this spring, despite problems finalizing its Blu-ray discs. But the next-gen machine has made no appearances of any real interest since the E3 show last May, and an expected hands-on chance with PS3 failed to materialize at either Destination PlayStation or a recent games event in Taiwan.

"We hope to release PlayStation 3 in the spring, however we have made no official launch date," was Sony's official statement this morning.

It's highly unlikely that PS3 will appear anywhere until this year's E3 game show, which makes it hard to believe that a spring launch is anything more than an optimist's dream. With E3 now only two months away, we won't have long to wait to find out the truth.

Ben Richardson is a former Staff Writer for Official PlayStation 2 magazine and a former Content Editor of GamesRadar+. In the years since Ben left GR, he has worked as a columnist, communications officer, charity coach, and podcast host – but we still look back to his news stories from time to time, they are a window into a different era of video games.