Sony Misses PlayStation 3 Goal By Half After Strong Wii Sales
SEATTLE — Sony Corp. sold 197,000 PlayStation 3 consoles in America during November, missing its goal for initial shipments by half after parts shortages slowed production, market researcher NPD Group Inc. estimated.
Nintendo Co.'s Wii, which also was introduced last month, sold 476,000 units, Port Washington, N.Y.-based NPD said yesterday in an e-mail. The Microsoft Corp. Xbox 360, on the market for the past year, sold 511,000 machines.
Sony had planned to make 400,000 consoles available at its November 17 American debut and missed that target, providing an opening for Nintendo and Microsoft. Sony last week replaced the head of PlayStation, Ken Kutaragi, and is airlifting machines to America to meet demand. Wii is benefiting from positive reviews and its $250 price, half the cost of the cheapest PlayStation 3.
"There's no way that Sony will make its forecast for 1 million units in America this calendar year,"said Evan Wilson, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore., who rates Sony shares "sector perform." "They will face supply constraints at least through March."
American depositary receipts of Tokyo-based Sony rose 16 cents to $39.90 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Microsoft, the world's biggest software maker, fell 14 cents to $28.85 in Nasdaq Stock Market composite trading. Nintendo shares gained 270 yen to 27,300 yen in Osaka, Japan.
Nintendo, which is shipping 250,000 Wiis to America each week, also hasn't been keeping up with demand, an analyst at NPD, Anita Frazier, said. "I have no doubt that many more could have sold if there had been more inventory."
Nintendo will meet its forecast for 2 million Wiis shipped in America in 2006, Mr. Wilson said. Nintendo, based in Kyoto, Japan, plans to ship 4 million devices worldwide by the end of the year.
Xbox 360, which made its debut in November 2005, "rebounded nicely" from a slow summer because of Sony's problems and the release of "Gears of War," Mr. Wilson said. The title was the top-selling console game in November with 1 million units sold, according to NPD.
