Leave it to Ken Kutaragi, the mad scientist Sony calls the Father of the PlayStation, to drop a bombshell. The wait for new information about Sony's upcominꦦg PlayStaꦺtion 3 console has been long in coming, but Mr Kutaragi has finally broken Sony's corporate-wide silence about the new machine - and his words are leaving craters.

The first bit of info? The PlayStation 3 will not launch in Spring 2006, as originally planned. Granted, calendar-savvy folks gamers 🍰who've noticed that it's already spring '06 and we don't yet have PS3s might have guessed this, but it's nice to hear it officially stated.

The new release date fo🔯r Play𓃲Station 3? November 2006. Worldwide.

On face value, the November release (the 11th is rumored, but could not be confirmed) might look as likely as Sony's original, close-your-eyes-and-wish-it-were-true sp💮ring release. We haven't seen much in the way of games since PS3's unveiling last May, and Sony waited a long time to own up to the delay - you could be forgiven for fearing a repeat performance in October. But there are certain details that can back up the new fall launch.

For starters, Sony is a victim of new technology. The Blu-ray Disc drive - which all PS3 games will use 𝓀-has caused real problems,because the process ofgetting the full specifications of the devicefinalized and approved by industry t🌞ypes has been sluggish.

But these specs have now been completed and should be approv🍸ed before the end of April. Similar hitches came from the HDMI technology - that's High Definition Multi💎media Interface - and in simple terms it's how PS3 pipes visuals, audio and other data into your HDTV.

What's really making us believe in the November launch is th🌃is: Sony has apparently delivered an order to a Taiwanese manufacturer, requesting mass production of PS3's circuit board - a fundamental part of the PS3's architecture. Production of retail systems is due to start in August🔥, so we're positive the PS3 will arrive in the US in time for the holidays.