EA predicts Sony will miss PS3 year-end shipment numbers

If you haven't managed to procure a good, solid pre-order yet from a credible retailer, you just might want to take a good hard look at those unboxing pics we shared last night, 'cause it could very well be as close as you're getting to a PlayStation 3 in 2006. See, despite Sony's repeated reductions to the launch quantity predictions, EA thinks they're still "exaggerating" a bit, and we might actually end up with around 500,000 to 800,000 units by year's end in North America -- as opposed to the 1-1.2 million currently being predicted by Sony. Sure, we would figure Sony would know its own numbers better than anyone else, but it also has the greatest motive to "exaggerate," and we're sure EA has plenty of insider info of its own. For our part, we're relatively certain Sony will have 14-17 of these things ready by November 17th. Maybe.

[Via Joystiq]

[Bob McPherson @ Nov 5th 2006 4:21PM]

im thinking...........the Titanic

[paolo @ Nov 4th 2006 4:14PM]

im all for the ps3 but wasnt this obvious already?

[Paul @ Nov 4th 2006 4:20PM]

were we supposed to be suprised?

[Ryan Petrich @ Nov 4th 2006 4:23PM]

EA is probably just trying to warn the investors that Sony's predictions may be a little too optimistic so its stock doesn't shoot down when Sony doesn't meet its quotas and EA's sales don't measure up to what was expected. Sounds like they're trying to prevent the dip that happened when the 360 came out

[Arno @ Nov 4th 2006 4:36PM]

I hope Sony dies a miserable death. EA can go too.

[Mike @ Nov 4th 2006 4:55PM]

I have a PS3 preorder but I think it would be better to sell it on eBay to someone who wants it more than me since I could use the extra cash. What do you think would be more profitable, listing it now as a preorder, or listing it on launch day?

[Michael @ Nov 4th 2006 4:59PM]

You can't list it as a preorder. eBay's policies state that you have to have whatever you're selling in your hands, at that moment. They added this fairly recently, due to shortages on launch day (I forget what it was though).

[Dan S. @ Nov 4th 2006 5:01PM]

Personally, though I don't have a preorder lined up (nor do I want one), I'd just get the launch unit and then sell it. Less hassles in selling a physical unit than a piece of paper saying you have a right to one.

Plus, the closer to Christmas, the better.

[Ker @ Nov 5th 2006 9:57AM]

C) None of the above

Wait two weeks for xmas - then list on ebay

[Ed @ Nov 4th 2006 5:00PM]

People get Xbox 360 HD DVD NOW!!! here's why... the package cost $200 King Kong is free -$40, the media remote is free -$30 and shipping is free -$10 so you actually be paying $120 for the HD DVD!!! Plus, if you apply for the Amazon Visa you'll get $20 off!!! so you actually be paying $99!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[the antique @ Nov 4th 2006 5:48PM]

what if I don't want any of that extra shit?

[Dave @ Nov 4th 2006 6:17PM]

Ed, go hide somewhere!
I wont be getting this crap, yes even if you tell me to!

[Porsche 911 @ Nov 4th 2006 6:49PM]

The Xbox HD-DVD does not worth $120. Why would you subtract the shipping cost, I can buy that crap from a local store and I would not need to pay for the shipping, not only that, many online stores offer free shipping for items worth $100 or more.

Wow, you subtracted $30 for the remote; I also got a free remote with my Xbox360, now Xbox360 does not come with a free remote. It is called a promotion; the remote does not worth that much, which is why it can be given free. How could you subtract the remotes price from the original $200 price?

Again, the remote is free, and if you justify it your way, ok then, why would I pay $200 for something that worth only $120, I do not want the remote, I already have one.

Nevertheless, please do not make me repeat the same crap about the free movie. It is just a promotional item, it does not even worth $40, some items are overpriced to gain more profit. BTW, PS3 will also come with a free movie.

Finally yet importantly, why are you talking about the HD-DVD? This article is about PS3, not Blu-Ray, Xbox360, and or HD-DVD. Please try to be more professional and think before you speak/type. Please try not to justify anything by displaying yourself as a fanboy, show more logic.

P.S. You cannot run the HD-DVD drive without the Xbox360 system, which is another $300. In addition, without a HDMI input, the future can be rough for the Xbox360 when the HDCP kicks in.

[Justin @ Nov 4th 2006 6:59PM]

Now thats bright... apply for a credit card just so you can save $20 on a luxury item. You know at some point in your life your credit history is going to be very important to you (want to buy a house? a car? take out a business loan?). Managing your finances responsibly now will save you a lot of hassle in the future.

[hydrogen_wv @ Nov 4th 2006 5:45PM]

People will be more likely to buy if they know for sure they can't snag one. Until launch day there is still a glimmer of hope. The people that want it the most won't buy a preorder, because they will be camping out and will be "sure they'll get one".
The day after launch though, people that camped out and didnt get one will be bidding. Your best bet: List is as soon as they are sold-out of every store.

Michael: Yes you can, you have to have a certain seller rating and meet dozens of other criteria. Unless you are a hardcore ebayer, you can't auction off a pre-order in other words.

[dbell @ Nov 4th 2006 5:49PM]

hey ed, are you being paid by microsoft and amazon.com, or do you just enjoy being a shill for the hell of it?

[NeoteriX @ Nov 4th 2006 6:28PM]

Anyone wanna put bets down on how much of a markup the PS3s will go for on eBay? I'm thinking at least 300%

[rob @ Nov 4th 2006 6:57PM]

that adds an extra day of camping....greaaaat

[sendeth @ Nov 4th 2006 7:36PM]

maybe e a should concentrate more on keeping their servers running and less on other companies.

[demon @ Nov 4th 2006 7:49PM]

I really dont understand all the hype for the ps3? Can someone please tell me because all i see is a ps2 with blueray, upgraded parts, and more bling. I see nothing really new in the way of gaming, like Nintendo is trying with the wii.

[mj @ Nov 5th 2006 8:34AM]

Well what is new in Wii except controller. It still doesnot do anything better than SD. It doesnot play any DVD, it does not do wireless. So why pay 299 for gaming only console when you can get gamecube for 99usd.

[tekdroid @ Nov 4th 2006 8:40PM]

ps3 interface looked pretty rudimentary to me, that's all I can say. The way the unit is designed reminds me of some 80s device I'd see in a second-hand store, but I understand some love the gloss and chrome accents so maybe it's best to just call that subjective.

The UI still looks rudimentary and unfinished, IMO.

On a purely subjective 'buzz' note:
The Wii is the only thing causing some curiosity and excitement to me. Not that I am crazy for any console in particular; it's just the one that stands out most to me as being something unique.

However this Sony thing plays out, it seems very rush-released. I fully expect Blu-Ray to never do the numbers they think it's gonna do. It will become just another format in the long line of formats out there. HD-DVD, too.

Will be interesting to see just how many units they get out there (and how many Quality Control issues crop up ;)

[Jarod @ Nov 4th 2006 10:42PM]

PS3 over crapbox 360 ANYDAY!

[Oddmanout @ Nov 5th 2006 12:28AM]

"I really dont understand all the hype for the ps3? Can someone please tell me because all i see is a ps2 with blueray, upgraded parts, and more bling. I see nothing really new in the way of gaming, like Nintendo is trying with the wii."


Good point, but when you get down to it what was the PS2 but a PS1 with DVD, upgraded parts, and more bling ? Dreamcast had much more "innovation" in the early stages (integrated modem/LAN adapter, mouse/keyboard input, games like Shenmue...Seaman...etc...though it lacked the critical DVD drive), and though it did drop later, the Xbox had far more graphical power. And yet people LOVE(D) the PS2.

'Bling' counts for a lot, eh ?

I don't know what to think about the PS3 anymore. For Sony's sake, I hope it does well...they have a lot riding on it's success. But it seems like it's been way too rushed the whole way through. Considering they 360 has been out for a year now and Sony is STILL able to move PS2s I really think they should have planned for a late 2007 release waaaaaaay back in '03/'04 and then just took their time designing and perfecting the PS3 to make sure it rocked. Both Blu-ray and Cell are new technologies that Sony plans to integrate in all kinds of devices from here on out. I think they would have been wiser to let other tech drive BOTH in the early stages to work out the bugs, then let PS3 sales drive down production costs.

But I just don't know. Based on the hype, The Cell-Ray package sounded unbeatable a few years ago...but no so much now. One PPE and seven SPEs sounded like a madman of a CPU, but with dual cores hitting their second generation, and quad cores already hiting the market in servers and high end gaming rigs, as time goes on Cell is losing a bit of its wow-factor, but as afaik NOT gaining any power.

It is interesting to watch Sony these days...so many echos of Sega. Stiff competition on all sides...strange corporate blunders stacked one on top of another...bad marketing strategies...make or break stakes...it's all so familiar...

Fortunately Sega had a good core business in it's software, and that sustained them. Sony's got their fingers in all things electronical, so even if PS3 doesn't do so well, I doubt they will die overnight. The interesting thing is, Dreamcast in a way was what finally brought Sega down in the hardware world, even thought it was a hit and an awesome piece of technology...a fact no one (not even Sony) denied. Is the PS3 such an awesome piece of hardware as to save Sony where the Dreamcast failed to save Sega ? We shall see...


Of course I hope and pray in some dank dark warehouse in the seedy outskirts of Tokyo, engineers silently slave away with designs of a fantastic new console with a quadcore CPU, upgradeable graphics accelerator, VMD media drive, brilliant on-line service (plans), and available standard and innovative controlers. So that should the giant fall and leave the field of battle ripe for a new challenger (or perhaps an old one) Sega may once again bring us gaming the likes of which we have never seen...

Well a guy can dream anyway...

[brownie monstahs @ Nov 5th 2006 7:01AM]

Ed @ Nov 4th 2006 5:00PM

People get Xbox 360 HD DVD NOW!!! here's why... the package cost $200 King Kong is free -$40, the media remote is free -$30 and shipping is free -$10 so you actually be paying $120 for the HD DVD!!! Plus, if you apply for the Amazon Visa you'll get $20 off!!! so you actually be paying $99!!!!!!!!!!!!!

40 dollars for king fucking kong WOOOOWWWWWWW, WA HAHA HOWWWWWWWWWWW, KING KONG!!!!
AMAZON VISA .... HAHAHAHAHAAHAHAHA .... HAHAHAHAHAHAHA

the people who are bitching about 600 dollars are not ready for the next generation, this shit aint cheap no more brothah. 3 thousand for an hd tv, 70 dollar monster cables(if u wanna buy em at best buy or something, yes, yes, i know u can find em for 2 dollars good for u), all these smart dudes with an xbox360 are buying the 400 dollar one with the 20 gig hdd, and then if they want to they are adding on a 200 dollar hd dvd drive so they can play movies off of it.... 600 dollars and u get 40 gigs less and you cant use the extra space on the hd dvd cuz its optional therefore not everyone has it... nice, but u get king kong so thats a plus. oh and the best thing since sliced bread xbox live which i have no idea why anyone cares cuz i dont care how well traveled u are, u dont have a friend in norway waiting to play you or some trendy shit like that so w.e. its a fad that they are cashing in on.

[J. Evans Turner @ Nov 5th 2006 11:34AM]

mj:
The Wii DOES DO WIRELESS. Stop spouting misinformation.

[rdrr @ Nov 5th 2006 9:56AM]

This is only going to jack up those ebay prices, which I hope people will not endulge in, but I know that in reality some "used car salesmen" types will make out very well.

I know it will be very tempting to be the coolest kid on the block this winter, but wouldn't you rather wait until they work out the kinks in this first run, and save yourself some $$$ by buying rev B?

[Oddmanout @ Nov 5th 2006 10:50AM]

"u dont have a friend in norway waiting to play you or some trendy shit like that"

Maybe not, but the internet has no boarders. Norway is no farther than across town, and across town is as near as the next room from the internet's perspective. So maybe you don't know anyone (yet) in europe to game with, but if "Live" means you can LAN Party w/out having to invite 8 stanky @$$ fellow gamers over to your hovel so they can eat all your grub and spill Jolt all over everything, it's a commodity the world needs...

And for the record, international game play between friends happens all the time. Colleges are hotbeds of both gaming and international travel (ie foreign students). Via that route (and that's just one possible way of meeting people) it's pretty easy to make friends with someone from another country with whom you might later game after they go home. There's nothing 'trendy' about that, and you don't have to be well traveled.


Not that LIVE brought that about. I've been playing Delta Force 2 with peeps across the globe since 1999, and Delta was FAR from the first to introduce online play...

Heck how is online play fundamentaly different from playing Chess via mail ? And people have been doing THAT since the 1800s. If it's a trend...it's here to stay.

[Dontelle LaMontrose @ Nov 5th 2006 7:04PM]

Electronic Arts can go back to its drawing board before bitching about the Playstation 3.

EA reeks of bad games and focuses on developing games for industrial-size profit.

[Andrew @ Nov 5th 2006 9:15PM]

Didn't MS buy EA - in which case, this sort of report is somewhat predictable. The PS3 is a far superior machine, and MS have missed all their sales targets from launch. Everyone is waiting for the PS3...