wraggster
November 15th, 2005, 00:48
Source - Scotsman (http://news.scotsman.com/topics.cfm?tid=5&id=2002302005)
GAME, the computer games group, today admitted that it could not meet the huge demand for the new hand-held Sony PSP console.
And in a double blow, the retailer said first-half losses had widened sharply to £14.7 million from £3.5m because of software selling at cheaper prices and consumers being more picky about how they spend their cash than before.
Game said PSP orders had been so strong that all units had sold out in its 397 stores in the UK and Ireland within three weeks of its debut.
Many customers who have paid a deposit for the PSP have not received their console even though Sony dispatched 200,000 units to the UK following its launch on September 1, Game said.
Chief executive Martin Long said only a limited number of units had been delivered by Sony in past days, preventing Game from replenishing store shelves.
But he dispelled fears that the company could suffer similar woes to last Christmas when an "unprecedented breakdown" in the supply of PlayStation 2 consoles led to sales falling by a fifth.
"Sony are very confident about their shipping target for the year which is about one million [PSP] units," Mr Long said.
GAME, the computer games group, today admitted that it could not meet the huge demand for the new hand-held Sony PSP console.
And in a double blow, the retailer said first-half losses had widened sharply to £14.7 million from £3.5m because of software selling at cheaper prices and consumers being more picky about how they spend their cash than before.
Game said PSP orders had been so strong that all units had sold out in its 397 stores in the UK and Ireland within three weeks of its debut.
Many customers who have paid a deposit for the PSP have not received their console even though Sony dispatched 200,000 units to the UK following its launch on September 1, Game said.
Chief executive Martin Long said only a limited number of units had been delivered by Sony in past days, preventing Game from replenishing store shelves.
But he dispelled fears that the company could suffer similar woes to last Christmas when an "unprecedented breakdown" in the supply of PlayStation 2 consoles led to sales falling by a fifth.
"Sony are very confident about their shipping target for the year which is about one million [PSP] units," Mr Long said.