A Washington Post report this week has sparked fears from gamers and investors that that the launch of the PlayStation 3 console could be disrupted by a number technical discovered in the aftermath of the Tokyo Game Show. Macquarie Equities analyst David Gibson has apparently advised investors that all might not rosy in the world of the PS3, suggesting that the system's on-show in crashed repeatedly... which may be a result of the console over-heating.

Gibson acknowledges that he is unsure exactly why the system kept crashing, but suggested it could have been a combination of the sealed cases and high-temperatures inside the Makuhari Messe venue. The cases were apparently sealed in order to stop prying eyes peeking inside the boxes on display at the show. Next-generation consoles are certainly expected to run rather warm, and the has also had a few heat-related issues.

It is unknown exactly how the console is cooled, but it is said to be something rather more sophisticated than a normal fan system... like the water-cooled Xbox 360. It is also worth noting that final won't be sealed as the expo consoles were, allowing the hardware within a little more 'breathing room'. For their part, Sony utterly refute the problem. "SCE can categorically deny that there's any problems with units overheating," read a statement issued today to GamesIndustry.biz. "As could be seen on the TGS floor by the tens of thousands of media and public attendees, both the hardware and software worked flawlessly."

This denial hasn't stopped the report hitting Sony's share price, however. More soon.

By Luke Guttridge