PS3 to suffer shortages, Euro launch delayed till March

  • Thread starter Thread starter Tenacious D
  • 65 comments
  • 3,709 views
MS also had shortage, but instead of delay the launch, they decided to go gor it, the result? Several dudes had to wait for several months even though they preorder months before the launch. the Console itself was also rushed, many people had over heat problem, and the number may be larger than you thought.

Gamers Say Microsoft Understates Xbox 360 Problems

:)
 
So what you guys are saying is that its better to delay the launch and have more fully working, glitch free consoles at a later date rather than putting what has been produced so far on the market and deal with huge shortages, blue ray problems and highway robbery prices on ebay (360)......

I dont agree totally...... sure its good to have more so there are no shoratges and it stops people ripping others off on ebay...... BUT, the average person that has no allegiance to either console will probably buy a 360...... one because its available at xmas and two is cheap compared to the stupid prices that sony have said and that has put people off......

Basically Sony have screwed the whole thing..... and it angers me......ALOT! how can billion dollar companies opperate like this... how disorganised can you be!..... they shouldnt have mouthed off about production and dates so much at E3.......actually they should have shut up about the whole thing till now! :lol:..

Oh well...... long live the 360 I guess.....

Robin
 
Originally posted elsenet by me:

It's pretty obvious to me that this is a problem which ran across the corporate world. Sony has been manufacturing electronics since the end of World War 2. They set up contracts with a number of companies to deliver the components required to build the PS3. These are pretty lucrative contracts, especially for the people making Blu-ray elements, like the blue-violet laser diodes. They were facing a meager market in stand alone players because the demand just isn't there yet. It would take them years to see sales of two million units of whatever format won. PS3 changed all that dramatically. They had demand like you wouldn't believe. I knew years ago that making those diodes was very difficult, but thought by now that the issues causing roadblocks had been solved.

However, it's obvious to me that some of these people led Sony on as far as production yields and forecasts. They inflated numbers hoping for issue resolutions which failed to manifest in order to maintain exclusive contracts. Sony went with these numbers to project PS3 production and schedule launch and supply numbers for the holiday season. Things came up, all sides tried to massage the situation, but when it came down to the wire and production still hadn't started on the PS3, Sony scrambled for every blue-violet diode supply they could, and managed with what they could for this fiscal period.

This is the only thing that makes sense. Sony wouldn't want bad news of this scale overshadowing TGS. I'm sure they told us as soon as they could so the dust could settle and tempers ease as soon as possible. So who are you going to kill? The blue-violet laster diode makers for not producing parts that they did everything they could to manufacture? Sony for not waving a magic wand and make things happen like they do in fairy tales, or use an old disc format that developers have been grumbling about already for over a year? And then get stuck with the confusion of trying to switch over to Blu-ray when they became available in mass quantity?? Would developers and consumers like that any better than they do the idea of MS's bulky drive HD-DVD unit??

As I posted before, when I went browsing for a 360 back in march, thinking that things were surely different for the 360 by then, I was stunned. Still a crappy library, consoles still unavaiiable, and some of the bundles you would have to buy to get a 360 premium were just insane! $800+, and you STILL had to wait in line.

Did 360 fail? Well, the XBox essentially died, but did the 360?
 
FoolKiller
jimihemmy
While I'm sorely disappointed in the shortage of launch units (I was planning on getting one), there is one thing I would like to know:

Why are they sending the US four times the amount of machines than thay are releasing in Japan?
Click to expand...
Japan has half the population and Christmas in the states is celebrated differently than it is in Japan.

That is the best that I can figure.
Click to expand...

Personally, I don't think it has anything to do with the way we celebrate the holiday period. I would guess it has a lot more to do with product presence.

Think about it, Japanese gamers are fanatical about Japanese consoles and games, and the Xbox has been historically weaker in Japan, so its logical to assume that Sony would ship more units abroad. Sony doesn't have to convince its domestic market, but it does have to mount some opposition to the Xbox 360, add the fact that the America market probably the most important market of all, and you can kind of see the thinking going on at Sony.

So by shipping more units to America, I would say that Sony is trying just that. Granted 400,00 units in a country the size of America will be spread so thinly, that they will hardly be noticeable, but they will be there, and that I believe is also important. Think product presence.

I will wait for the PS3, I'm not interested in the 360 or the Wii. I only hope that Sony get it right in March, or they will be in serious trouble. I do believe that the PS3 is a fantastic product, and Sony know for sure it is, but all the bragging and broken promises are going to take peoples eyes off the prize, and (potentially) push gamers towards its rivals. 'COME ON SONY, GET A GRIP!' ...please? :sly:
 
I'm with magburner. The 360 has ONE game I'm remotely interested in, Forza 2, and it's being delayed ITSELF. The Wii is interesting but the performance is rather old gen, I want A Class titles like Resident Evil, and I just plain don't like the nunchuk.

This leaves me with one choice.
 
And guess what, Sony folks screwed up a long time ago by anoucing a worl wide launch, should have stuck with tradition and no one would care if it came out in March 07. Still 100k for japan is silly. DElay the eintire laucn till you get systems then there will be more launch titles. UK is getting a deal anyway seeing many games come out around that time. UK psp lauch was far greater than us/japan combined and it sold 187k the first week.
 
How many Blu-ray players are on the market currently? How many have Sony manufactured or are currently manufacturing? What ever the amount, Sony need to stop and use the blue laser diodes for their PS3 production.

Right now, the Blu-ray players are not selling well. Blame horrible performance from BD machines and bad movies for that. The blue laser diodes used for these machines should go to production of the PS3. That's their money maker and the reason why they took out a billion dollar loan.

We knew about this blue laser diode problem back in Jan/Feb of 2006. You're telling me Sony couldn't have gotten the ball rolling on blue laser diode production? They couldn't use their buying power to get all the blue laser diodes they needed? Not buying it. I think Sony dropped the ball on this one.

What's worse is how long did Sony know BD would use blue laser diodes? It must have been several years. Did they do any research on the production of blue laser diodes and how difficult they were to manufacture? They got the Cell manufacturing running fairly well, and that's more huge than a diode. To have a simple yet essential component shortage is clearly the fault of Sony.

Sony are smarter to know relying on what vendors claim they can supply you. There's always a back up plan. Looks like they didn't have one.

*Sigh* It's a good thing I sold my Sony stock long ago...
 
They're my sentiments too. Sony should have known at E3 what it would take to produce 2 million PS3's. I guess they assumed a little too much.

Here's a link to a BBC.co.uk reply noticeboard. It kinda gives the general consensus from the UK, though I'd say there's a fair amount of partisan opinions being posted. Link

Thing is though most people who wanted a PS3 this Nov will still get one next year except for those who wanted A next-gen console and would have had a choice come Xmas. The ones that want one will still get one, but I will admit Sony will have lost customers and lost quite a lot of sales. Who knows, maybe the PS3 will be in third place in Europe?
 
My concern is not getting one for launch, which I admit, I would love to have. But, lets look at the numbers.

For the PS2, Sony shipped 500,000 to the US for the launch day. We all know those were sold out the same day, or by the next day. By the end of holiday 2001, just over a year later, they had shipped 1.46 million PS2 units. Now, relate that to PS3.

For the PS3, Sony plan to ship 400,000 units for the US launch and have 1 to 1.2 million units shipped to the US by holiday season 2007. (joystiq.com)

Now, while that's a good number, I still think it's way below what is needed for everyone who wants a PS3 at launch to get one. I see another launch day fiasco of crowds waiting in line, pre-paid liars and cheats and news paper adds for $1,400 for PS3s which I hope would be put to a minimum this time around, but no such luck.

Meh, I don't think I'll get a PS3 at launch this time around, but I guess, with minimal effort, I'll try.
 
Jeremy Ricci
as we all laugh at you YSSMAN (substitude the Y for A).

Seriously, it's not any different than the 360 launch, as MS might as well have delayed every single region with no consoles. THey had the same problems, but said screw it, and launched very few consoles to the world, and had people waiting for nearly 5 months until they could get one...what's the difference? Oh that's right, you're a fan of one and not the other, hence your blind devotion.
Click to expand...

And your "Sony Prevails!" attitude doesn't count? We've battled before, we both know it, but I beg of you to look at this from the view of the average consumer...

Sony promised "us" over a million units before the Holiday Season, and what do we get? Right around 400K? Yeah, Microsoft may have done only 350K more, but that is 350K more people who came away "happy" for the most part, ones that won't have to wait untill the next Holiday season to see their systems they pre-ordered two years ago.

Sony dropped the ball big time, there isn't any way around it. Sony's stock prices dropped over a dollar today after the news hit the streets, as it is dissapointing to both shareholders and consumers alike. How can they expect a great batch of products when they can't even be bothered to make enough systems to meet demand?

The paradox of course is that there needs to be a balance stuck between supply and demand. While on the one hand too much supply can flood the market with technology only a select few would want or afford (see Dreamcast), one would surely want demand for their product as well (Nintendo in most cirumstances does well here).

I'm not pushing for anyone here, but I find it amusing watching Sony fall on it's face and cram their foots in their mouths after E3. Microsoft certainly isn't perfect, as I have plenty of complaints with them, and Nintendo could certainly do better as well, but of the three Sony has been the most troublesome.

Sony is going to be in hot water once the holiday season rolls around, there really isn't any way to deny that. Microsoft was to some extent, but the trickle of 360s was enough to keep most people satisfied, and now have finially leveled-off with demand where they can keep production up while keeping sales steady.

This holiday season will have people reconisdering their relationship with Sony, particularly parents looking for PS3s. When they can't see the difference between the 360, Wii, and PS3 (particularly when pricing is included), parents most likely will reconsider their purchases alltogether.

---

I'm not attempting to be anti-Sony or anti-PS3, but seriously, the news is funny to some extent. There is a point in which bad news becomes funny, and I belive this is the story that tips the scales.
 
If you look at the bright side, the EU launch will have a lot more A list titles, like Heavenly Sword, Assasins Creed, StrangleHold, Motorstorm, and others available from day one, where we'll be either playing a great game (resistance possibly?) or waiting for these titles.
 
I think many people need to relax... or pay more / import. Simple as that. Sony wants to sell consoles, it is not their fault that they can't...
They told us certain numbers and believe me, those numbers could have been reality without the massive production problems... so get over it and wait, or import or buy a Wii for the waiting time...
 
Yeah, I'm buying stock in Nintendo (In Wii We Trust), and I'll buy Sony again after this news takes its hit on the market.
 
YSSMAN
Microsoft said last year that they would have 1.5 Million units ready for the worldwide launch in that three-week window. A 1 Million unit shortage for Sony is going to be dire-straights for sure, and I simply cannot imagine how much these things are going to go for on eBay...

EDIT: Microsoft had 750,000 units ready on day-one for the launch, and had 1.5 million units shipped by the end of 2005... My bad
Click to expand...
It's worse than that Yssman, you're wrong. Microsoft is just very bad at being honest with their numbers. Courtesy of PaiPaiMaster at PS3Land.com and Wikipedia:

Microsoft promised 3 million Xbox 360s in the launch period (roughly launch date to December 31st) and 10 million units worldwide by March 2005.

Microsoft delivered 330,000 units at North American launch, and around 660,000 by the end of 2005. They delivered roughly 1.5 million units by March 2006, and have yet to reach their 10-million unit goal.

Sony previously estimated 2 MILLION PS3 UNITS WORLDWIDE at launch on November 11th and November 17th. Instead, 100,000 units will be allocated to Japan on November 11th, 400,000 units to North America and 0 units to Europe/Australasia on November 17th.

Sony originally planned for 4 MILLION PS3 UNITS WORLDWIDE throughout the launch period, until the end of 2006. Currently, that projection has been lowered to 2,000,000-2,400,000 units, with 1,000,000-1,200,000 units going to North America, 0 units going to Europe/Australasia, and 1,000,000-1,200,000 units going to Japan by the end of 2006. This means that while the day-one launch numbers in Japan and North America have been significantly lowered (75%), the launch numbers for the rest of 2006 has only been halved. 2.4 million units in North America and Japan by the end of 2006 is not a bad number at all.

Sony is still expecting to ship 6 million units worldwide (all 3 territories) by the end of March 2007, the month that PS3 is now scheduled to launch in Europe and Australasia.

The difference is that Microsoft faced production shortages with MANY core parts of the Xbox 360 during and after the launch period. For weeks and even months after launch, Microsoft barely produced and shipped any Xbox 360 units, and actual shipment numbers showed, even though Microsoft refused to release those numbers until after units were sufficiently stocked in stores.

Sony is facing production issues with only ONE part in the PS3, and those issues are nearly over. The Blue-Laser Diode in the PS3 is the core piece in the Blu-Ray drive featured in the system, and production of the unit was previously scheduled to begin in August 2006, but has been pushed back to some time this month. This is due to the fact that because of PS3 production, this is the very first time that the diodes have been mass-produced, and production firms were not yet ready. Once mass-production of the blue-laser diodes begin, Sony will just need to play catch up with the delayed numbers, instead of face months of diminishing productions like Microsoft had to face with the Xbox 360 launch.
 
Man, I really hope the laser doesn't screw up and totally SUCK like the one they put in ps2. Boy, that laser system is the biggest piece of **** ever.

Keep your fingers crossed, boys.
 
Looks like Sony already announced they would use all blue laser diodes for the PS3 production. Read below.



Laser Shortages to Delay New Blu-ray, HD DVD Players?

Tue Aug 29, 2006 at 01:53 PM ET

The next-gen format war may be cooler than expected this holiday season, as shortages of blue laser diodes could result in shipment delays for new models of Blu-ray and HD DVD players and drives until 2007.

That's according to DigiTimes, who, citing unnamed sources at optical drive manufacturers, claim that the majority of major vendors, including Sony and Matsu****a, have suspended shipments of the blue laser diodes that drive both next-gen formats.

The sources say that even with Nichia, Sharp and Sanyo still shipping blue lasers to customers, demand nevertheless far outstrips supply. Sony, meanwhile, is diverting all of its blue laser production to the PlayStation 3, leaving all outside vendors out of luck as well.

That could mean that those shopping around for a new standalone Blu-ray or HD DVD player this holiday season may find themselves out of luck -- and those who already own a next-gen player now could end up having the "Tickle Me Elmo" of consumer electronics. At least until early 2007...
 
Does that mean we should invest in whoever's making these diodes?
 
Omnis
Does that mean we should invest in whoever's making these diodes?
Click to expand...

No, because over a dozen companies are making them.

But, going to CC or BB to pick up HD-DVD or BD player might be a good idea. They'll be scarce items long after the PS3 arrives.
 
Robin ///////
So what you guys are saying is that its better to delay the launch and have more fully working, glitch free consoles at a later date rather than putting what has been produced so far on the market and deal with huge shortages, blue ray problems and highway robbery prices on ebay (360)......
Click to expand...
From a consumer standpoint, yes. I would rather wait to get a working system, in fact I planned to, rather than get one on launch day that overheats, explodes, causes fires, or whatever.

Sure Sony could pump out a bunch of subpar glitchy systems and then have to replace them later, but at least it prevented some from buying a 360. That is a great business angle but they are taking a consumer friendly angle instead. I kind of like that.

I would rather just wait than go through what a friend has done with his 360. He had to send his system in FIVE times before they just replaced it with a new one. Of course, he lost all of his saved game data and has to start over with every one of his games because they think the problem was with the HD, so any transfer of data could just create the problem on his new system. He says that he wishes he had waited.

I waited for a PS2 and avoided the glitches everyone had and I planned to do the same with the PS3. The fact that Sony is delaying things instead of handing out a couple million systems with bad Blu-Ray diodes tells me that they are trying to avoid giving us that bad system to start with. I'm sure there will be something they miss but at least this won't be one of them.

Besides, who really expected this launch to go off without a problem?
 
As long as GranTurismo is an exclusive PS title they'll always be a Sony games console under my telly, no matter how long it takes to arrive in the shops.
 
FoolKiller
From a consumer standpoint, yes. I would rather wait to get a working system, in fact I planned to, rather than get one on launch day that overheats, explodes, causes fires, or whatever.

Sure Sony could pump out a bunch of subpar glitchy systems and then have to replace them later, but at least it prevented some from buying a 360. That is a great business angle but they are taking a consumer friendly angle instead. I kind of like that.

I would rather just wait than go through what a friend has done with his 360. He had to send his system in FIVE times before they just replaced it with a new one. Of course, he lost all of his saved game data and has to start over with every one of his games because they think the problem was with the HD, so any transfer of data could just create the problem on his new system. He says that he wishes he had waited.

I waited for a PS2 and avoided the glitches everyone had and I planned to do the same with the PS3. The fact that Sony is delaying things instead of handing out a couple million systems with bad Blu-Ray diodes tells me that they are trying to avoid giving us that bad system to start with. I'm sure there will be something they miss but at least this won't be one of them.

Besides, who really expected this launch to go off without a problem?
Click to expand...

I have to say that its this that has put me off a 360 so far, I'm itching to have a go at TDU and the footage of Forza 2 looks promising. However the number of people here at GTP and friends and family that have had problems with 360 has put me off.

I think the odds are on getting one, but I certainly am going to wait and fingers crossed a lot of these issue will be ironed out. I have to say it not a problem I have had with any Sony machine, both my original Playstation and PS2 (both launch machines) are still running.




TheCracker
As long as GranTurismo is an exclusive PS title they'll always be a Sony games console under my telly, no matter how long it takes to arrive in the shops.
Click to expand...

Same here, for me the Playstation (1 and 2) have always been the stronger machines (no matter what they have been up against) for racing and driving games that I have wanted to play.

Regards

Scaff
 
there may not be a ps3 if sony goes bankrupt due to stock losses and because they put so much money into the ps3 will they have the money to continue as they wont be making as much money because they cant get a ps3 maybe people will turn to the 360 and this may be the beginning of the end for sony which will be a very sad occasion imo
 
In short...why doesn't this surprise me that Europe are effectively getting shafted...again...means due to Final Fantasy XII's March release I won't have time to play it before the ps3 is out >.<
 
Omnis
Man, I really hope the laser doesn't screw up and totally SUCK like the one they put in ps2. Boy, that laser system is the biggest piece of **** ever.

Keep your fingers crossed, boys.
Click to expand...

Its funny because I bought a Japanese machine only like a few weeks after launch (SCPH 10000 made in Japan) and I have NEVER had any laser problems... no DRE's, no jumping, skipping, funny noises, ruined disks...etc etc...it has worked prefectly for 6 years!!! Whereas I have heard that many of the later units shipped to europe and the rest of the world were off a lower quality and the lazer would tend to fail or malfunction alot more and motor problems moving the lens.....

..... This is why sometimes I believe that the first batch may often contain the highest quality components before they contract them out to other companies to make the parts for millions of them.....however with such new technology like blue ray buying the first may not be the best idea.....

For example, lets say that the first million odd ps3 units (if we ever get there!) will have all the blue ray lasers and player built buy sony themselves to the highest quality to ensure its right..... but once everything is sorted and the market base is there they will contract it out to another country such as China (no disrespect) to manufacture them cheaper..... however I think the quality of production and the amount of 'lemon' lasers produced will be alot lower.

Having said this for the first time in Sony's history the PS3 will be made in China from the start instead of the first few million made in Japan.

Robin
 
TheCracker
As long as GranTurismo is an exclusive PS title they'll always be a Sony games console under my telly, no matter how long it takes to arrive in the shops.
Click to expand...

beat me to the post. i was going to say that. i don´t care if its 2008. and that´s the primary reason why i won´t sony to suceed. because i want to play, eventualy, GT7 on a PS4:dopey:
 
don't exactly know the launch games list.. but I know two games I'll buy PS3 for: MGS4 and GT5!! and they will sure not be realeased untill late 2007-2009 though so I am not in a hurry to buy a PS3, but its too bad its delayed one more time!
 

Latest Posts

Back