Sony Disappoints Again in Japan

Even 100,000 units of the PlayStation 3 is something Sony cannot handle at this point.

How long do you think the lines are going to be the day the PlayStation 3 launches in Japan? When Sony revealed that it wouldn't be able to meet its own targets and would only have 100,000 units ready for launch in Japan on 11 November, people were worried. A new report has put real fear in them.

According to a report in the Nikkei Keizai Shimbun, relayed by IGN, Sony has announced that it will not be able to meet even this meagre target and is now predicting it will have a paltry 80,000 PlayStation 3s ready for day one.

The problem appears to come down to component shortages.

To make matters worse, IGN reports that many retailers are refusing to take pre-orders and even the few that have ran out of their allocations in minutes.

It's not just Japan that's being affected by Sony's overreaching. Sony' Jack Tretton recently conceded that the end-of-year shipment targets for America still aren't confirmed. The company said it would have a million consoles made by the end of December, but that is not confirmed.

Sony's plans have been in disarray after it was forced to scale back the launch of the PlayStation 3 following a shortage of blue laser diodes that are at the heart of the newfangled Blu-ray drive. Opening shipments for America and Japan were slashed and the console will only hit Europe in November.

Europeans face more obstacles too. Sony is also cracking down on imports of its upcoming console. Popular Hong Kong retailer Lik-Sang recently closed down, citing Sony's legal bullying.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo