Sony Shock: Only 400,000 PS3s for US Launch (News)

GamePro staff, GamePro Australia

07/09/2006 16:10:27

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has drastically decreased the number of PlayStation 3 consoles it expects to ship this year as it wrestles with component shortages. The US will see just 400,000 units this November; Japan, only 100,000.

Just over a week ago, SCEA CEO Kaz Hirai confirmed that Sony planned to launch this November with a combined two million consoles in Japan, North America, Europe and Australasia.

But revised figures released today have slashed those supply figures by 75 percent:

In the US, Sony forecasts just 400,000 units for November 17th

In Japan, Sony now expects just 100,000 consoles on November 11th

In Europe, the launch has been delayed altogether until March 2007

These slashed figures mean that big shortages are likely in both the US and Japan.

When Sony launched the PlayStation 2 in 1999, it shipped 720,000 consoles in Japan over its first weekend on sale. This time the hype surrounding the PlayStation 3 is even greater but with supplies so tight, it appears Sony will be fortunate to satisfy similar demand over at least the first seven weeks on sale.

Sony is blaming the problems on a delay in mass production of blue laser diodes. The laser diodes are used in the optical disc drive inside the machine's Blu-ray drive. Inclusion of Blu-ray Disc in the PlayStation 3 was seen by some analysts as a gamble from the start. Sony is keen to make the format the de facto choice for high-definition video and its use in the new console would ensure Blu-ray Disc a place in millions of homes. But its use comes with other problems, including high prices and tight supplies.

Using Blu-ray Disc already tripped up Sony once. In 2005 and early 2006, the company had promised the PlayStation 3 in the second quarter of 2006, only to revise the launch date to November. A key factor in that delay was the incomplete Blu-ray Disc format because consumer-electronics makers failed to agree on the disc's copy protection.

It's not the first time Sony has misstepped on a console's launch.

The company planned to have 1 million consoles in U.S. stores in November 2000 when it launched the PlayStation 2 but component shortages hit those plans and Sony ended up shipping 500,000 units.