Sony has delayed the release of its first stand alone Blu-Ray players which now come with an August 15 release date. The first Blu-Ray players were scheduled to appear on June 25 but the Japanese commercial electronics giant has, stealthily, retracted the original date and introduced a new, on or about August 15, retail E.T.A.

As Sony has not made the reasons behind the delay public, we can only make assumptions regarding the reasons for the delay. Sony has been very secretive about the progress it is making on the hardware front for both the PS3 and Blu-Ray and many journalists have suggested that the Cell processor is experiencing a variety of production issues. Many experts suggest that the incorporation of a brand new chip and a brand new DVD format in one device is bound to be plagued by production issues.

It is not clear what effect, if any, the Blu-ray delay can have on the PS3 since the release date for Sony's new console is November 17, some time after the August 15 date. If there is some problem with the hardware it could, potentially, affect the PS3 as this summer was supposed to see the manufacture of the first units.

The delay however, could simply be a strategic move by Sony since an early summer launch for a high price product could disappoint as far as sales go. Until things clear up we will have to wonder but MG will stay on this story for you. Follow the download tab above if you'd like to pre-order a Blu-Ray player with an, on or about August 15 2006 release date.