Sony Struggling to Meet PS3 Target
Still tough to meet its downscaled launch plans.
Even with Europe getting snubbed, Sony still has a struggle ahead of it to meet its downscaled launch plans for the PlayStation 3. The company has been talking big about hitting 2 million units shipped by the end of the year, but the company's American boss says that's not definite.
After promising that it would have 2 million PS3s ready for the worldwide launch starting this November, Sony was forced to pare that down to a trim 500,000 units for Japan and the US, leaving Europe out in the cold until next year. And even that reduced number may be out of reach.
"The honest answer is it's more of a target", Sony's Jack Tretton told Bloomberg news. "Clearly we've had production issues."
At the heart of the PlayStation 3 lies the fancy Blu-ray next-gen DVD drive, and it's this component that's giving Sony headaches. Sony has struggled to get enough of the blue diodes that power the Blu-ray laser.
After repeatedly dodging questions about imminent shipment cuts, Sony admitted in September that it would not be able to follow through on its global launch plans, pushing the release of the PlayStation 3 to March 2007 in Europe.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo
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