PS3 SmackDown! smacked down until late '07

When THQ announced WWE Smackdown! vs. Raw 2007 in March, many wrestling fans sized the grappler up as a PlayStation 3 launch title, as that version was scheduled to launch alongside the console this fall. Unfortunately, those same gamers were given a serious unitard wedgie today, when THQ revealed that the first PS3 entry in the series won't hit the mat until late next year.

"Consistent with our goal of delivering the highest quality content across all next-gen platforms, we have decided to postpone the debut of the Smackdown series on PlayStation 3 until the holiday 2007 timeframe," a THQ rep told GameSpot. Luckily, only the PS3 version was affected by the delay, and the Xbox 360, PlayStation 2, and PSP versions remain on schedule for a November 2006 release.

THQ appears to be approaching developing games for the PS3 cautiously in the console's formative years. Company CEO Brian Farrell has stated that developing for the PS3 and Xbox 360 was more difficult and expensive than the other next-gen console, the Wii. "One of the things we like about [the Wii] is the development costs...on the Wii are nowhere near what they are on the PS3 and Xbox 360," he said just before E3.

Back in May, Bloomberg cautioned that several games originally slated for release as PS3 launch titles could fall off the 2006 calendar simply because dev kits weren't sent to companies soon enough. Indeed, Farrell told the news service that the reason its big-license game The Sopranos wasn't in development for the PS3 was because "it was too risky" and "made no sense."

Such trepidation isn't limited to THQ. Sega of America president Simon Jeffrey warned, "There certainly will not be a lot of [PS3] titles available [at launch]." For the record, Sony Computer Entertainment America CEO Kaz Hirai has stated that he believes there will be approximately 15 launch titles available when the PS3 goes on sale in the fall.

However, postponements such as the Smackdown delay aren't limited to the PS3. The Xbox 360 faced similar problems when it went on sale last fall, when highly anticipated launch titles such as Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter, The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, and Dead or Alive 4 were all postponed due to quality-assurance issues.