Sony won't fulfil PlaySation 2 quota

Sony has admitted it is unable to fulfil its pre-Christmas quota for PlayStation 2 units and will be as many as 35,000 units short.

Sony has admitted it is unable to fulfil its pre-Christmas quota for PlayStation 2 units and will be as many as 35,000 units short.

The eagerly awaited console is due to be launched in two weeks, costing £299. It has suffered from a lack of components in Japan, according to Sony, as well as unprecedented demand.

Sony has already been highly criticised by its supply channel for the pre-order system, which offered units to the public on a first-come, first-served basis.

However, the company claims that some pre-order forms still remain in stock, so it will collect the unused forms from stores to prevent further disappointment.

David Wilson, head of public relations for Sony, said: "We were always planning on receiving 200,000 units in the run up to Christmas, but unfortunately we have been told to expect around 17 per cent less. This amounts to 165,000 units instead of the planned 200,000."

"This is still an awesome achievement," he said, adding that sales will still be seven times greater than the original PlayStation and four times greater than those of the vendor's nearest competitor.

"This situation doesn't do Sony any favours at all," said Wilson. However, he said the company is not concerned about post-Christmas sales because the console has an unprecedented number of titles to support the launch.

Despite pressure looming from Sony's major competitor Sega, which has already cashed in on the lack of PlayStation 2 units available by cutting the price of its Dreamcast console, the company is not concerned about demand for PlayStation 2 dwindling after the Christmas buying rush.

"Because the titles are so advanced, they will have a longer shelf life and will still appeal to people long after Christmas," said Wilson.

First published in Computer Reseller News