The PS3 (PlayStation 3) officially will not be available until this November, according to Ken Kutaragi, head of Sony video games division. Kutaragi called an immediate news conference to report the delay after the information had already been leaked by the Nihon Keizai Shimbun and other Japanese newspapers.

Kutaragi stated that delays in finalizing the Blu-ray optical disc system are to blame for the pushing back the PS3′s release date. The new time line means Sony will attempt to roll out the PS3 in Japan, Europe, and North America in November. Kutaragi also stated that the Blu-ray PS3 would be able to play not only PS3 titles, but PS2, and original PlayStation games.

While the delay is saddening for many, with so many rumors about Sony pushing back the date, it’s hardly a surprise. The delay will mea that the PS3 will lag behind the Xbox 360 for almost a year (Xbox was released in US in November 2005), instead of the 6 months wait (June 2006) Sony has once promised us. I’ll be keeping my fingers crossed that Sony will have enough PS3′s in stock to avoid the Xbox 360 nightmare, when many pre-orders weren’t fulfilled until February ’06.