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Sony PlayStation (Games)

Sony Ships 2 Million PS3s, May Still Miss Goal 173

Posted by Zonk from the sky-is-falling dept.
Despite the news (at Gamasutra) that Sony has already shipped 2 Million PlayStation 3s, Next Generation reports that analysts are still doomcasting Sony's early next-gen efforts. The Japanese investment firm Nomura is now saying they expect Sony to be able to ship approximately 4.5 million PlayStation 3 units by the end of the fiscal year in March. This is only 75% of the company's stated goal. From the article: "Despite early manufacturing issues and a subsequent European delay, Sony has maintained that it will still ship 6 million PS3s worldwide by the end of its fiscal year. The company recently said that it met its goal to ship 1 million units in North America by the end of calendar year 2006. NPD Group reported last week that the console sold 490,700 units in the US in December, with 687,300 sold life-to-date in the region." I think it's still a mite early to say what's going to be happening in March, but there are a lot of unhappy investors listening to these reports right now.
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Sony Ships 2 Million PS3s, May Still Miss Goal More

Sony Ships 2 Million PS3s, May Still Miss Goal

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  • BFD (Score:5, Insightful)

    by supabeast! ( 84658 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @11:02AM (#17628600)
    Sony needs to worry less about shipping PS3s and worry more about selling the ones that are already out there. If some really cool games don't ship this year the PS3 could just end up as another expensive game system nobody could justify buying.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Thansal ( 999464 )
      They will ship a few "cool" games this year. They mainly still only have their core franchizes however. Nothing much on the lines of new ones. My guess is that if they can get FFXIII (yes, we really are up to 13) out relatively soon they should see a nice boost in sales, combine that with other things like Devil May Cry, Dynasty Warriors, etc etc, and they might stil lhave a shot.

      I will not count them out (hey, it does make awsome purdy graphics, and you can pack a HECK of alot of stuff onto a blu-ray di

      • Re:BFD (Score:4, Interesting)

        by GeckoX ( 259575 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @12:23PM (#17629938)
        Yep, this is par for the course for a new Sony console. The only thing that _might_ make this fail is the other consoles. As for this release though, there are never many great games available when a new sony console comes out. This is for a number of reasons, but most revolve around the more complicated system they always end up putting out. It takes a couple of years to learn how to squeeze everything out of a new piece of sony kit.

        There are always a certain number of people that buy a new PS immediately, but they've never had a console that just flew off the shelves at launch. They're like the locomotive in the industry, take a long time to get moving, but once they are look out. Prices fall, footprint reduces, games come out in droves, sales grow and grow and grow.

        IMHO, all we can tell at this point about the current state of the consoles is this:
        a) It's too early as usual to weigh in on Sony, but the indicators show similar success to previous launches.
        b) MS is in a typical holding pattern. Picking up more sales due to the timing of games being available and specifically, a couple games that the japanese market is actually interested in.
        c) The Wii is off to a great start...time will tell, but unless they screw up the games coming down the pipe in the future, it should be Nintendo's most successful console to date.

        Don't expect much to change for at LEAST another year. Now taking bets on how many articles on this subject we'll see here within that time...I think we're already well over half a dozen ;)

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by gfxguy ( 98788 )
          [blockquote]Don't expect much to change for at LEAST another year.[/blockquote]

          That'll be around when the first price drop happens (or maybe the second - after the first round of idiots with too much money buy the consoles, they often drop prices around E3). When that happens, I might consider a Wii. Unfortunately, with the Wii selling so well, and already cheaper than the competition, they might hold back on price drops.

          Anyway, props to Nintendo. I know this is a Sony article, but it just doesn't seem l

        • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

          by 0kComputer ( 872064 )
          Your post is utter bullshit. How the hell it got modded interesting is beyond me.
          There are always a certain number of people that buy a new PS immediately, but they've never had a console that just flew off the shelves at launch. They're like the locomotive in the industry, take a long time to get moving, but once they are look out. Prices fall, footprint reduces, games come out in droves, sales grow and grow and grow.

          Yet, the PS2 initially sold well partly on the basis of the strength of the PlaySt

      • Re:BFD (Score:4, Insightful)

        by twistedsymphony ( 956982 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @03:30PM (#17633418) Homepage
        They will ship a few "cool" games this year. They mainly still only have their core franchizes however. Nothing much on the lines of new ones. My guess is that if they can get FFXIII (yes, we really are up to 13) out relatively soon they should see a nice boost in sales, combine that with other things like Devil May Cry, Dynasty Warriors, etc etc, and they might stil lhave a shot.
        I agree that FFXIII would deliver the much needed boost however isn't that game more of a 2008 release? considering FFXII was just recently released XIII probably wont be out for at least another year, probably even longer considering it's a generation jump. And then comes the question if it would still be a PS3 exclusive if the sales haven't improved enough by that point. Devil May Cry would certainly help but that's another one rumored to be going cross platform, Capcom is making kissy faces with MS right now after the success of Dead Rising and the good response so far of Lost Planet (which is based on the same engine and DMC4 BTW). Dynasty Warriors is a full fledged cross platform title now, and has already enjoyed 2 released on the 360. Their best bets are MGS4 and Tekken6, but even those probably wont see light until about November and it's doubtful if even those titles could move a $600 console without a solid library to back them up.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by Thansal ( 999464 )
          Wow, I admit I havn't been following the PS3 games that closely (not interested in em), so I didn't know the news was that bad! I seriously thought those titles were slated for release this year.

          Ah well, as I said, I don't REALLY care that much about the PS3 one way or another. I gues I might like it to tank, so I can pick up a 360 next generation and play ALL the games I skiped this generation.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by 7Prime ( 871679 )
          Yes, FF13 is a 2008 release... that has nothing to do with the fact that FF12 was just released (FF8 and FF9 were less than a year apart, since they were developed similtaneously by different teams), but yes, it's not going to be out any time soon. And I'm glad other people are starting to question FF13s exlusivity, which I think is in danger of completely disappearing. I still maintain that Square has probably had an 360 version in the works, all along, just in case the PS3 tanks.

          • And I'm glad other people are starting to question FF13s exlusivity, which I think is in danger of completely disappearing. I still maintain that Square has probably had an 360 version in the works, all along, just in case the PS3 tanks.

            I really do hope it comes to the 360, it's one of the few titles that draw me to the Playstation brand. If they did make the jump to the Xbox 360 exclusively, or even time limited exclusivity it would be earth shattering to the industry. The 360 would start selling like cra

    • As you probably know creating games for PS3 is hard. And not only because SDK is hardly available (at least for average people) + expensive you also have problems with Cell processors. They're fast beasts but very hard to tame. There's a lot problems with multi-threading. Until Sony resolves those issues PS3 will be just an expensive console.

      • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

        by Branko ( 806086 )

        SDK is hardly available

        And if PS2 SDK is any indication, it will be of less then ideal quality.

        This is exactly why MS has a chance at beating Sony in the next-gen console war. Multi-threaded programming is hard as it is, but Microsoft is at least providing developers with tools that do not make it even harder.

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by jimicus ( 737525 )
        Wasn't something very similar true of the Dreamcast?

    • Re: (Score:3, Interesting)

      by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) *

      If some really cool games don't ship this year the PS3 could just end up as another expensive game system nobody could justify buying.

      To a certain degree, the same is true of the Wii. We're halfway through January now, and the majority of games on the horizon are Virtual Console games. That means that the hefty Gamecube library (of games most Wii owners haven't played) is holding up the value of the console. If the demand for the console wasn't keeping morale so high, you'd already be hearing grumbling abou

      • Sony's pockets aren't that deep at the moment. I agree with your statement on software availability for both consoles. I am a Wii owner, an having beaten Zelda, and basically sitting on my hands for something good to come along. Taking a look at a release schedule isn't doing much to put me at ease.

        • Re:BFD (Score:4, Insightful)

          by AKAImBatman ( 238306 ) * <akaimbatman AT gmail DOT com> on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @12:05PM (#17629640) Homepage Journal
          Sony's pockets aren't that deep at the moment.

          They're still far deeper than Nintendos. Even if they don't have the cash reserves, they have sufficient credit to do nearly anything they need to do.

          Personally, I hope the entire executive staff (also known as "pond scum") are evicted from their positions and replaced by a newer, more consumer-friendly bunch, but I don't think that's going to happen. At least not for a while. Which means that Sony will continue with their age old strategy of attempting to steamroll the competition.

      • That being said, I think of lot of the PS3's eventual muscle will be deflected or absorbed by the XBox 360. Which would leave the Wii in a much better position. My only message to Nintendo is this: Don't get cocky!

        For a variety of reasons, people have made this a Wii/PS3 grudge match, but they're not the only players, and not necessarily the closest competitors. Nintendo will do very well if people decide they want a Wii because of the Wii's merits. But if people who otherwise might like a PS3 for it's me

      • To a certain degree, the same is true of the Wii. We're halfway through January now, and the majority of games on the horizon are Virtual Console games. That means that the hefty Gamecube library (of games most Wii owners haven't played) is holding up the value of the console.

        Actually, while new games would help as well, the whole Virtual Console is probably the largest selling point of the Wii. Think about it - all the legacy games that came out when people were 5, 10, 15 years old and are now not availa

      • To a certain degree, the same is true of the Wii. We're halfway through January now, and the majority of games on the horizon are Virtual Console games.

        While there are a lot of VC games, Nintendo isn't slouching on Wii games. Wario Ware is out this week (which is driving me nuts because I really can't afford it), Wii Play is out next month (ahh! where's my money!), and Mario Party's showing up the month after. Later this year we should be getting Sonic, Dragon Quest, Mario, Metroid, and Smash. And I st

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Kris_J ( 10111 ) *
        That means that the hefty Gamecube library (of games most Wii owners haven't played) is holding up the value of the console.
        I think you're misunderestimating how long it takes to get through the Wii's Zelda, or how much fun can be had from that rabbits game, or the bundled sports title. Sure, I'd like an MMO, but it's not like I'm spending all my Wii time playing GC games, or that I've downloaded even a single virtual console title.

    • Here we go again (Score:2, Informative)

      by Itchyeyes ( 908311 )
      I'm amazed at how people still don't understand the concept of "shipped" units and how it pertains to sold. The vast majority of units sold will be sold through retailers using something called just in time inventory. They monitor how much of a product they have and how fast it is being sold and and use that to calculate when they will need to order more of a product and how much of it to order. If consoles are sitting on shelves then retailers aren't ordering any more from manufacturers. There is a sma

      • Re:Here we go again (Score:4, Informative)

        by grogdamighty ( 884570 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @12:12PM (#17629752) Homepage
        And your post, if not ignorant, is at least as naive.

        While shipped==sold in the longterm, this is not necessarily true in the short-term. What we have here is the rather unique situation of a console launch, where console makers produce as much as they can and retailers get as much as they can to sell. At this point, made==shipped. On the other hand, if shipped != sold (or close to it) in this time period, it becomes apparent that demand is not as high as it should be - which is what is happening right now. Considering their original estimates of shipping 6 million by March assumed (as Kutaragi said) that 5 million people would buy the PS3 even if they didn't make any games for the system, it is fairly clear that a low demand (as seen in low sales) now will equate to an eventual lower shipping rate (with a lag between the launch and when retailers realize they're not selling out their whole stock).
        • Actually, for Sony, shipped is when it leaves their factory. For "Just in time" shipping, this could result in a possible high number of "shipped" (by their terms" units, that may not get to stores for some time, because they're being held in a warehouse or something.
        • I don't think that that lag is as long as you think it is. Most large scale retailers, like Best Buy and Walmart, have very sophisticated inventory systems in place. Millions and millions of dollars have been put into these systems to make sure that they can react as quickly as possible to market demands. Also, this is a time of year when retailers are trying to reduce inventory after the holiday glut. We're not going to be seeing any mountains of PS3's, like we did with the 360 in December, even if the

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by Kris_J ( 10111 ) *
            Let's say you initially got two units and sold both of them instantly. How can you tell how more units are likely to sell? You can't. So you guess, and you order 30. They arrive and two more sell. Now your inventory system can kick in and tell you not to bother ordering anymore.

            Shipped this early = anticipated demand. Only sold = sold.
      • Well, I think you will agree with me that at least at the beginning of the consoles sales, numbers shipped are totally useless.

        Next, even if the numbers are well into the systems lifetime, they're just a stupid and erroneous number, that just shows they either want to maximise the number they can boast about, or a really that out of touch with the consumer
    • "Sony needs to worry less about shipping PS3s and worry more about selling the ones that are already out there."

      Yeah.. they should take all the assembly workers at the factories and put them into marketing.
    • Maybe there are still consumers that remember how the music branch of Sony treats there customers. Could the "Sony" name have become a liability?

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Amouth ( 879122 )
        that is one reason i don't buy sony.. the other is their laptops.. while other mfg's that put in card readers that are SD/MMC/Memory stick compatiable, sony only put in memory stick.. it is that type of attitude that will make them fall.

        they are trying to be apple - only apple can pull off masive lockin but that is because they offer a it just works mentality - sony only offers it only works with our crap vision - and personaly the quality of their crap is and has been falling for years..
      • I don't think the average consumer remembers nor thinks anything about rootkits when considering the PS3.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by gfxguy ( 98788 )
      I thought PS3's "languishing" on shelves while Wiis sold out was a lot of hooey until I was at a local Target yesterday that had at least TWO PS3s on the PS3 shelf (there may have been units behind those, they were pulled forward and in a case, so I couldn't look and didn't care to anyway), and sold out of Wiis.

      And I think back to those sad, impatient morons who paid thousands one month ago. Saps.
    • While waiting around until midnight at a GameStop last night for the WoW expansion, we talked a little with the employees about PS3/Wii/etc. They said that, so far, they have had TWO people return PS3s for trade in. (Not for full value return like with eBayers who were screwed, but trade in for people who bought it and didn't like it.)

      Sad, that.
    • I think this guy [youtube.com] must have ruined all their marketing efforts.
  • That's OK. There are plenty sitting on the shelf at the local Wal-Mart that they could probably ship to less apathetic areas.

  • Couldn't resist (Score:5, Funny)

    by rlp ( 11898 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @11:14AM (#17628780)
    So Sony's got a wii problem with their next-gen console.

  • So what? (Score:5, Informative)

    by the computer guy nex ( 916959 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @11:16AM (#17628802)
    I went to purchase the newest Warioware game for Wii last night and saw a half dozen PS3's sitting on the shelves of my local Best Buy.

    Who really cares how many consoles have been "shipped" ?

    • Re: (Score:2, Insightful)

      by UbuntuDupe ( 970646 ) *
      Who really cares how many consoles have been "shipped" ?

      I care -- if the console you're talking about is the Wii, which has been selling out everywhere with no end in sight.

      Luckily, I got one at launch, but what's keeping Nintendo from meeting the demand?

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by Thansal ( 999464 )

        what's keeping Nintendo from meeting the demand?

        same thing that happens at every launch. Being able to produce enough units to satisfy launch demands would require one of two things. Either create the required number of units before hand (and just store them), or make sure your production facility can keep up with the inital demand.

        The First idea is silly, once you have units that are sale ready, you almost always want to start shipping (storing them takes money, and the only reason nto to ship is if you

  • ATTN: Slashdot Editors (Score:3, Insightful)

    by skymt ( 968075 ) <skymt0@gmail.com> on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @11:22AM (#17628924)
    Please stop reporting on the numbers that analysts pull out of their hats. It's not news, it's a guess. /dev/random would be just as good as these clowns at predicting sales numbers.

  • Shipping more? (Score:3, Insightful)

    by dreemernj ( 859414 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @11:23AM (#17628932) Homepage Journal
    The mountain of 60 PS3's piled up inside the front doors of the local Best Buy for the past week tells me that shipping them should not be as high a priority as giving people a reason to buy them.

    • Re: (Score:3, Informative)

      by nonsequitor ( 893813 )
      *lowers voice to whisper* Those are display boxes, they don't actually have a console inside of them.

      • Re: (Score:3, Insightful)

        by YU Nicks NE Way ( 129084 )
        Bingo! Give the man a carrot!

        That's called an "in-store display".
      • uh... yes they do... you can pick one up and go straight to the checkout with it... trust me...
      • Those are display boxes, they don't actually have a console inside of them.

        While obviously I don't expect them to take one of the empty boxes off the pyramid every time a customer purchases a PS3, I would imagine that retailers would want to keep the number of boxes on display pretty close to the number of units actually available for purchase.

        The salesperson isn't going to enjoy being in a position where he has to tell an expectant customer "Sorry, we are sold out of those, I know it looks like there's a s
      • Actually, they are nice and heavy, sealed, and have an attendant sitting next to them. When people want a PS3 they take them from the stack. At least you only whispered, lol. That would have been embarassing to shout.

  • 9 weeks (Score:3, Insightful)

    by thatguywhoiam ( 524290 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @11:25AM (#17628974)
    We are 9 weeks from the launch. Some perspective is needed.
  • Comment removed based on user account deletion

    • Re: (Score:3, Funny)

      by mgblst ( 80109 )
      Yes, Segas two pronged attack of the 360 and the Wii seems to be having a great effect. It was very clever of the Sega to break up into two companies, Microsoft and Nintendo.

      Heh, I loved the dreamcast as well, but lets not get away with ourselves here.

      • Segas two pronged attack of the 360 and the Wii seems to be having a great effect. It was very clever of the Sega to break up into two companies, Microsoft and Nintendo.

        You attempt sarcasm. But Sega has in fact broke up its efforts and developed several games for Xbox and GameCube, and I imagine that Sega's Wiimote-controlled exclusive titles will draw money away from titles for Sony's platform.

        • Re: (Score:2)

          by apoc06 ( 853263 )
          you guys talk as though sega has not developed titles for the PS3 as well. currently i know that full auto2 is exclusive to sony platforms, and the ps3 versions of multi-platformers: virtua tennis, sonic and virtua fighter are all right around the corner from release.

          also in this upcoming year, sega has more titles planned for release on the "failing" psp than any other platform.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by smash ( 1351 )
      Might i point out that my dreamcast (that I actually purchased *after* my PS2) is broken. My PS2 is not.

  • Doomcasting? (Score:4, Funny)

    by 2008 ( 900939 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @11:31AM (#17629050) Journal
    That sounds awesome. What level do I have to be to cast that spell?

    • Re:Doomcasting? (Score:5, Funny)

      by Kjella ( 173770 ) on Tuesday January 16, 2007 @12:34PM (#17630180) Homepage
      That sounds awesome. What level do I have to be to cast that spell?

      Level 14 Market Analyst
      + Bonus to dexterity for rapidly being able to shift your position
      + Bonus to constitution for spouting bullshit all day
      + Bonus to charisma for being a sweet talker. Extra bonus for tech mags
      - Penalty to strength since you just talk, you don't do anything
      - You're an insult to intelligence and wisdom

      Still want to play?

  • What about games?

    What a Slashdotters AND happy owners ("happy" is requirement) of PS3 can say about games? What can you recommend to old fan of Tetris and Nethack.

    For fun I have bought Wii - first console of PC casual gamer - but now I want more visual dense experience, and PS3/Xbox360 looks to me interesting. I do not like complicated games - like Mario - which might require full day of training just for one particular level. What I need - is a games for a evening, something I can play for one hour

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Duds ( 100634 ) *
      Ridge Racer 6 on 360 (or it's almost identical but uglier cousin RR7 on PS3) would be ideal, the entire world tour is a "map" of races. You could attempt and complete 1 at a time in about 10 mins (assuming you pass) and make "Some progress".

      Amped 3 on 360 is another one where you can pick and choose your challenges for the hour you want to play.

      Tomb Raider Legend is a short (but also cheap) game but your hour will allow you to complete most of the levels and you can save if you fail, either way you've made

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Erwos ( 553607 )
      I've heard that Viva Pinata for the 360 is beautiful, addictive, and has a relatively shallow learning curve.

      Also, Guitar Hero II for the PS2 is like crack cocaine.

    • Re: (Score:2, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      You're the first person I've ever heard referring to Mario as "complicated". I will admit that it has gotten more involved and complex with the transition into 3D, but now the game itself tends to be broken up in such a way that you can accomplish small goals in ten minutes or less. That's why there are 120 stars in SM64, and 120 Shine Sprites and all those blue coins in Super Mario Sunshine. You get one, you save, you're done if you want. No level in that game takes more than ten minutes to play unless you

      • You're the first person I've ever heard referring to Mario as "complicated".

        I have New Mario on DS and it is unplayable. Even excluding the "portable" aspect of DS, Mario requires some good concentration - something I lack after 8-9 hours in office. Needless to say, playing Mario while outside is impossible due to all distractions around. And I have heard from profis that DS version is easier than GameCube one. Well, Okay, I always lack concentration - but somehow it affects Mario worst. (And DS versio

        • DS version doesn't let you save when you want.

          The DS version saves whenever you do anything important, like get a star, open a new level, etc. It can't save within levels, but they're not that long so it doesn't take much time to get back where ever you got stuck.

          As far as simple games, if Mario is complicated then I'd go with Wario Ware and Super Swing Golf and other simple looking Wii games. I can't think of a Playstation or Xbox game that is less complicated than Mario.

          • Thanks. I'll check them.

            Quake/Doom/HL/NWN - somehow are Ok with me. I need few seconds to come up with strategy to kill a monster in NWN. I need couple of minutes to come to normal game speed of Quake/Doom to never actually stop running and killing off monsters. But Mario (and some platformers I have seen on Sega before) are really somehow "complicated" for me: you just hit particular place where you constantly die and game often ends there for me. Wasting another week to reach the place again? To die u

    • I do not like complicated games - like Mario - which might require full day of training just for one particular level

      Sorry, but I almost pissed my pants trying to hold in the laughter... You honestly find Mario complicated?

      What I need - is a games for a evening, something I can play for one hour or so at time and make some progress.

      May I suggest Minesweeper or Solitaire? Or perhaps a challenging game of War or Go Fish.

      (Sorry, but calling Mario a complicated game is extremely sad, negative modding be damned!

      • So you find dying for slipped finger and then being forced to restart from beginning ... easy? Find you that entertaining? Me not. Day twisting fingers to pull out combo of 8 jumps thru three elevators and six monsters - for the opportunity lasts only few seconds? Not for me. Not even close to what I call "easy" and "entertaining".

        Humor me. Or try to challenge me - no, not in Mario - e.g. in Quake3/Doom3. Exploding bodies and splashing blood? That's easy. ;)

        P.S. Well. Probably I just tried harder tha

  • It seemed only like 2 months ago people were camping overnight and threatening each others lives for a PS3.

    And now they are gathering dust on sales shelves.

    You gotta admit, this is funny. Once again, the stories about the Playstation 3 have entertained me more than the console itself, for much less than $600.

    I'll be replacing my entertainment derived from the (nonexistant) Phantom console and my Gizmondo portable for the PS3. C'mon Sony, make some more silly PR statements like "The 360 costs too much!" or s
  • That is why you are likely to see lots of inventory. I for one would love to get my hands on the PS3, and I shall, but right now I do not have the cash. Had it been available before Christmas, I would probably have rearranged my spending to be able to get one. I shall get one this year.

    I am not much of a Sony fan, but I like their console. I like the fact that they have put that much effort into making the best all round console. Sales shall pick up, no doubt, especially with the inevitable price drops. The

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