A new report by analyst Lazard Capital Markets, is casting doubt over Sony's ability to deliver 400,000 PS3's for the console's U.S. launch and suggests the realistic figure may be closer to 150,000-200,000 units.
Such a dramatic decrease in the launch quantities of PS3 is bound to cause a severe shortage and may disrupt the delivery of pre-orders as Lazard's Colin Sebastian claims, we expect Sony to deliver 150-200k units to stores in the United States for the launch; consumers without pre-orders may find it difficult to locate an available system.
The same analyst downplays the significance of the reduced quantities of PS3's during launch and suggests that it will be a while before Sony's and Nintendo's next-gen console sales will be able to have an impact on the overall industry performance. We expect less than 15 per cent of software sales to come from the PS3 and Wii this holiday. The more numerous Xbox 360, PS2 and handheld platforms remain key drivers of growth, said Sebastian.
While we await confirmation, or denial, by Sony to these suggestions, we have to mention that rumors were circulating today regarding GameStop and its recent calls to customers mentioning the possibility of not fulfilling all pre-orders. The company is even offering a free-gift as an apology, we wonder if Sony will pick up the tabps3nwctrlrtlt_s1 for the expense.