The PS3 Launch: Three Months Later

GamePro speaks to retailers and examines supply and demand for the PS3 three months after its storied launch.

By Eugene Huang

I think it would be safe to say that America, as well as the rest of the entire world, has never been more divided along partisan lines than it is now. Escalation vs. pull-out, Barack vs. Hillary, Mac vs. PC: the increasingly confrontational nature of most arguments doesn't allow for fence-sitters anymore. Choose a side or get out.

Although it may just be an amazing coincidence, this current generation of the video game console war seems to be a reflection of the divided nature of the world today. And no other console in the short history of video games provides more of a source of contention than Sony's PlayStation 3.

From the console's extravagant price to the design of its controllers to its usage of the Blu-ray format, practically every feature associated with the system seems to spark a hot and often unmanageable debate. But recently, one of the hottest topics has been the PS3's availability in retail stores, with numerous gaming websites claiming that stocks of PS3 units remain unsold and untouched at most major retailers across the country. But Sony's Jack Tretton disagrees, and in a recent interview with Reuters, he contends that there are still areas in the region that are experiencing shortages of product.

We spoke with one manager at an unnamed gaming retail chain, and he informed us that his store, as well as the stores in the surrounding area, really have no shortage of stock.

"We'll get a shipment of, say, 10 PS3s, and it takes us about a week and a half to two weeks to sell them all," he tells us. "Meanwhile, we get even more Xbox 360 units than that on a weekly basis, and they take us only a week to sell out."

As for the Wii, the console's unprecedented demand has made it so that his store won't be able to receive new shipments of Wii units until April.

"I'm not going to deny that there's an amazing demand, but Nintendo's supply chain could be a little better," he states.

We then asked him what it is about the PS3 that makes it impossible to move, and he said that, without a doubt, it was the immense price.

"People are interested in the PlayStation 3, but they simply can't afford it. The price has alienated most consumers. I can't tell you how many people I've seen walk into the store, ask how much the PS3 sells for, and then walk straight out. And for the people that do buy the system, they never buy any games, probably because they can't afford to. Tie-in ratios for the PS3 have been very bad, since we still have a ton of software that remains unsold."

So the walk-in stores still have a lot of product left, but what hardly gets any coverage in the media is the PS3's availability on the online market. Just how easy is it to get a PS3 on the internet these days, and how much will it set you back? GamePro decided to investigate the matter further, and we were surprised with the results.

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