Most everyone (read: everyone but Sony) agrees that there are many PS3s sitting on store shelves, unsold, but this condition may become even worse if Sony insists on its goal of shipping six million units by the end of March. Dave Karraker, Sony’s corporate communications director, told GameSpot, "We are still targeting 6 million shipped worldwide by the end of March."
But according to NPD, Sony has only sold a little over 1 million units in the US since its launch in November of 2006. Sales figures in Canada are most likely even smaller, as recent data indicated that only 6,000 PS3s were sold in the country during the month of February. Ken Kutaragi, Chairman of Sony, said that 4 million units have already shipped to Japan and the US.
But if his figures are correct, and by some analyst estimates, less than 1.7 million PS3s have been sold worldwide, where exactly are all the other PS3s? Sony’s move to ship a total of 6 million PS3s by March may further increase the surplus of machines that have already appeared at retail outlets. It also presents a problem that Sony likely never expected–an overstock of PlayStation 3s, which are remaining unsold and unwanted by the consumer. With the addition of several million more units coming, the world may find itself knee-deep in PS3s.
But if the old business rule of supply and demand is true, the overabundance of PS3s and the lack of sufficient buyers will mean a price drop. Right? At least, that’s what a lot of people are hoping for.
