Sony missed PS3 shipment target by half, says Electronic Arts CEO

Thanksgiving sales "exceeded expectations"

Electronic Arts CEO Larry Probst has said he believes that just 200,000 PS3 units made it to the US for the console's launch - half the number promised by Sony.

Speaking at the Reuters Media Summit, Probst said that EA previously assumed the shipment figure would be lower than the 400,000 unit target set by Sony. However, he said, "Where they ended up was a bit of a surprise."

Sony has repeatedly stated that new shipments are being sent to the US on a continuous basis, and Probst predicted that between 500,000 and 800,000 units will have been shipped US by the end of the year. "We think they'll get into that range," he stated.

The PS3 launched in North America on November 17, just two days before the Wii and a week before Thanksgiving weekend.

"Bottom line, I would say that the first holiday weekend met or slightly exceeded expectations," Probst said, adding that the Xbox 360, PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS all selling solidly.

"Clearly the Nintendo Wii had a spectacular holiday," he went on, noting that sales of the new console exceeded EA's expectations.

Probst believes it's far too soon to tell who will win the next-gen console battle, however - and that it could take as long as five years to find out.

Sony has yet to reveal US shipment and sales figures for PlayStation 3, but Nintendo recently announced that 600,000 Wii units were sold in the eight days following launch.
Gameindustry

First, let me state that I am well aware that both the PS3 and the Wii are selling out everywhere - we can all agree on that.

But what I find interesting is the eBay auctions. Since Sony (by most accounts) seemed to have shipped fewer consoles than expected, you would think that therefore with supply being so much lower, that prices would go up. Basic economic rule:

When demand is high and supplies are low, prices rise

However, look at eBay: The PS3 sales are averaging $900, which is a good price for the scalpers, but we should be seeing those eBay prices at a higher level. The fact that we don't tells me that:

Demand for the PS3 is waning.

Now, there are some reasons for this: people might be thinking "Oh, I can't get one now, people are being shot over it, I'll get one later". Or they're thinking "I'll wait until the price goes down anyway."

But this is a possible problem for Sony in the long term: if the PS3 becomes the system you get "someday", how long until "someday" becomes "Oh, I'll play with thie 360 and Wii for now and get the PS3 later still."

I'm not saying Sony is going to die or fail, but these trends can *not* be very good if your a Sony salesperson trying to convince developers they should develop their new games on your system.