First PStwo details next week?

The first details of the remodelled PStwo console are expected to emerge at Sony Computer Entertainment's strategy conference in Tokyo next Tuesday, where division president Ken Kutaragi will outline the firm's plans for the second half of the fiscal year which runs to March '05.

Details of the conference, which takes place only three days before the Tokyo Game Show opens its doors for business day on Friday, followed by two consumer days over the weekend, remain under wraps for now, but speculation is mounting that the firm will take the opportunity to take the wraps off its worst kept secret, which was originally expected to be revealed at this year's E3.

Meanwhile, it's almost certain that the company will finally reveal the Japanese release date and price point for the PlayStation Portable, which is still believed to be on track for a pre-Christmas launch in the Far East.

The company may also discuss plans for the European and US launches of the console, or at the very least, confirm whether it is still on track to launch in these territories during FY 2005 - or whether the console will be pushed back past March 2005, as some analysts fear.

While it's not certain that Kutaragi will use the conference as a platform to announce the PStwo, some analysts and retailers in the USA expect the remodelled PlayStation 2 to launch next month, after several months of shortages of the original PlayStation 2 hardware in the channel.

The conference may also give some further details of the company's progress towards the PlayStation 3, as the CELL microprocessor - on which the next-generation console will rely - is nearing the completion of its development phase, according to a statement earlier this week from the president of Sony's partner firm Toshiba.