A rash of problems for Sony (including the massive laptop battery recall) has now been compounded by the delay of the PS3 release until March of next year. That is for everywhere except Japan and North America. AP article on Yahoo.

So what does that mean for the electronics behemoth? Well for starters many who were on the fence over whether to get a Nintendo Wii or the PS3 might now jump at the Wii with its lower pricetag and earlier release date. Hitting the stores with prime timing for the Christmas rush may allow Nintendo's new system to steal worldwide sales from the PS3. Then again maybe not. I'm a terrible prognosticator sometimes.

Of course in America and Japan the fight will go on as it has for years. This time though Microsoft was first to market with the X-box 360 and will have a two-thirds of a year head start on the Wii and PS3 there and a full year on the PS3 in the rest of the world.

But many people, like myself, buy along specific lines. For example I went out on the release date and purchased my GameCube, but I waited a year or more to get a PS2 and even longer for the X-box. I imagine it will be much the same way with this round of consoles.

The PS3 is now slated to be released in March of 2007. Not a huge loss for consumers I think considering that the PS3 is priced beyond many gamers here in Europe. In my eyes this makes the Wii even more attractive as it will be here in November, it won't cost me two month's rent and I'll still have a whole new system to play come Christmas holiday. If I can afford it and some games at the same time. The delay is being blamed on a lack of laser diodes for the new Blu-Ray disc component of the PS3. Well, whomever thought it was a great idea to introduce a brand new disc technology in the cornerstone of the company's gaming strategy probably just had his head lopped off. As a result "In the U.S., about 400,000 PlayStation 3 machines will be available when they go on sale Nov. 17. About 100,000 will be available on the Nov. 11 Japan launch date." (Yahoo AP article)

Wow! Do those numbers seem low to anyone else? I find them low because Sony states they will still ship 6 million units by March 2007. So then why only 500,000 available at the release? Aren't the U.S. and Japan the prime target markets?

It seems to me like they may not be telling the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth. But then again, what company ever does? Only time will truly tell how deep the problems run in the Sony camp. Maybe Toshiba will take this as a sign to strike hard with their HD DVD technology, I know I would if my main competitor showed marked weakness suddenly.

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