Thanks to the fallout caused by the massacre that is the Xbox 360 shortages, there has been massive debate and widespread speculation as to whether Sony would present a more formidable strategy with the release of their highly anticipated Playstation 3 systems. Although most sources tended to swing on the lower side, anticipating that Sony would ship fairly similar amounts at launch as the Xbox 360, a couple notable sources have been leaning in the opposite direction.
In what was considered a very optimistic look, analysts at Pacific Crest Securities stated that Sony should have 1 million PS3’s ready to ship at the expected November launch of the system. However, this number is chump change compared to the estimates provided by Pioneer, who happens to be a leading producer of the Blu-Ray disc format which the PS3 will come equipped with.
“The PS3 is launching right at the forefront of Blu-ray disc,” Parsons, executive VP of Pioneer, said. “If Sony ships the kind of numbers we expect them to this year, that will provide a very rapid growth of players out there hungry for titles. We’ve been hearing between 4 and 7 million [PS3s] could ship.”
4 and 7 million PS3’s is indeed a lofty number and such a shipment would lead to incredibly high launch sales and few shortages. Is Sony indeed going to be able to match those numbers? Guess we’ll all have to wait and see.