PS3's moving in reverse

[Razer]

from gamepro.com-

The PlayStation 3 launch has met several key Sony milestones, but early indications suggest it may not be the grand-slam hit the company had hoped for.

We recently had an opportunity to speak with an unnamed GameStop employee who indicated that the PlayStation 3 isn't in nearly as short of supply as first thought.

"We have lots [of PS3s]. So does everybody else," said the employee, referring to other GameStop stores. He explained that Nintendo's Wii console was sold out nearly everywhere, and Nintendo is having difficulties meeting the explosive demand for the system. The GameStop in question had been receiving Wii shipments every week, according to the employee, but lately the shipments have shifted to bi-weekly with only a handful of consoles -- four, in the case of his store.

The employee explained that the PS3 has seen a large number of returns since its November launch, mostly due to customers failing to attain huge resale rates for the consoles on eBay auctions.

This isn't the only report of slowing PS3 sales. An ArsTechnica piece quotes an anonymous game retailer who explains that "It's not that we've gotten more PS3s than Wiis, it's just that no one wants them."

"We've seen a few returned. We have four in the store right now," the employee told ArsTechnica. The piece also confirms that failed eBay auctions are triggering a deluge of PS3 returns from would-be resellers hoping to recoup their PS3 purchase costs.

The ArsTechnica source also mentions that his retailer's vice president has asked all managers to place prominent notes advertising the fact that the stores have PS3s in stock.


I don't know for sure how many people returning it would admit "I couldn't sell it on Ebay" as their reason but I did see 2 PS3's appear in one Walmart near me and one in another. I know they're not shipping them out one at a time either.


And in Japan (from IGN.com)...

Sony Misses PS3 Targets in Japan
Company sells under half a million in 2006.


January 9, 2007 - Despite promises of a million systems at Japanese retail by the end of 2006, Japanese publisher Enterbrain reports today that Sony has managed to sell just 466,716 PS3 units to Japan. This figure covers the period from the Japanese launch on 11/11 to the end of the year.

In comparison, Enterbrain reports that Nintendo managed to sell 989,118 Wii units from the 12/2 launch to the end of the year, with the number quickly jumping over the million mark for a total of 1,135,671 units by 1/7.

The firm didn't provide 2006 results for the Xbox 360, but did list the system as having sold a total of 290,467 units from its 12/10/2005 launch to the end of 2006. In particular, spurred by the release of Blue Dragon, Microsoft managed to sell 99,798 360 units in December 2006 alone -- the highest month ever for the system (yes, that includes the launch).

Portable gaming has been Japan's big star over the past couple of years. Enterbrain reports total Japanese DS and DS Lite sales from 2004 until the end of 2006 as 13,950,000 units. The PSP, while nowhere near the DS, has managed a respectible 4,510,000 units since its launch.

In the case of the Wii, IGN has had trouble finding a system since launch, making today's reports of a million plus Wiis sold to Japanese consumers all the more impressive.

The PS3, on the other hand, has been readily available since the New Year began. We were able to find a used 60 gig unit today at a major retail for $50 less than the new selling price. This would suggest that the lack of sales is due to more than just supply constraints.


The PS3 will not sell within 2007 unless Sony eats another $100 (at least) off of it. This brings into question however "can they afford to do that?" I think Sony has brought to market a product that slits it's own throat with it's functionality. Yes, it does alot (BluRay) and *may* be worth it on that standpoint but until BluRay becomes the standard AND BD players reach some point of saturation, the PS3 is just a hugely overpriced game player. No "killer app" game is going to change that unless they can get a WoW or Unreal style product. The PSP has already run it's course and won't ever be more than #2 (altho it's in a 2 player market so that's not a bad thing) and unless Sony truly maxes out the online features of the PS3 it's already game over.
It will sell more as a set top box than a game player. If that's what Sony was targetting then they'll succeed but somehow I don't think that was the goal when they were slapping the name "Playstation" on it.

Just my opinion tho.

[Shino]

I agree with just about everything you said Razer.

It's a shame that they went way too high and mighty with this thing. If they would have made they system $500, I think it would have sold better. If they drop the price soon, I think it will help.

But that's the question isn't it. Will they drop the price.

$600 IS way too expensive for the average gamer. Even though it is my opinion that they system is worth that much, doesn't mean I'm going to pay that much. If Blu-ray was already the standard... I would consider it. But until the standard is decided... I'll wait here on the fence with my Wii.

[BK]

I'm not even finding Blu-ray to be that great. Granted, I haven't recieved a deffinet answer on this; but HD DVD has an advantage in being able to play the storyboards and a video commentary while the movie is playing... something I haven't seen in bluray. Once people hear about that, Blu-ray doesn't seem as special. I really think Sony shot themselves in the foot with jumping to put any next gen format into the PS3.

[RuneLateralus]

From what I heard from the people who have a PS3 and the 360 HD-DVD player in terms of the video quality and the quality of the features, they seem to be more impressed with the HD-DVD on the 360 more than the PS3. However, whether that is more caused by the fact the external HD-DVD player only does movies plus upscales DVDs (if you have the VGA cables and a PC input on your TV) while the PS3's Blu-ray drive playing both movies and playing games could be a major cause for that.

Personally, I can't comment on Blu-ray at all due to the fact I don't have Blu-ray player/drive nor have I seen a Blu-ray movie in action, but I have an HD-DVD drive for the 360 (I picked up for $50 less since I worked at Gamestop and got it at the appreciation weekend) and I must say it is very nice. The video quality is great and with the VGA adapter, I can upscale my old DVD's to hi-def as well. However, you really notice the upscaling until you watch it in hi-def and then watch it in 480p.