Kutaragi: 400,000 PS3s For U.S. Launch

Following the announcement of the PlayStation 3's European delay into 2007, Sony's Ken Kutaragi, speaking to the Associated Press, has suggested that just 400,000 consoles will be available for the North American launch and “about” 100,000 for Japan for its November launch. The limited amount of stock is a result of an approximately one month delay created by the component supply problems, and will result in around a million less units than planned for launch. Kutaragi also indicated that mass production of the console will not begin until the end of September, resulting in two million consoles worldwide by the end of the calendar year, not the previously suggested four million. "We decided to focus on the Japanese and U.S. markets," stated Kutaragi to the Associated Press. "I am so sorry not to be able to answer to all the expectations." As noted in the previous story, problems with the mass production of the blue laser diode used in the console’s Blu-ray disc drive have been blamed for the delay. The problems appear to confirm repeated rumors of component shortages, voiced again just yesterday by analysts at Wedbush Morgan Securities. However, despite these issues, Sony is not changing its shipment forecast of six million units globally within the fiscal year ending March 2007, presumably hoping to catch up its manufacturing delay in the weeks and months after launch.