Euro PS3 delay shows Sony's commitment to US - analyst

Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter has told GamesIndustry.biz that he believes the European PS3 delay proves Sony is out to win North American consumers over first and foremost.

"The allocation to the US - 80 per cent of initial shipments - is shocking, and it is clear that they intend to ship as many PS3s here till they crush Toshiba," Pachter said.

"I really think it's unfortunate for European consumers, but the delay makes clear that Sony intends to fight the Blu-Ray - HD-DVD battle on US soil."

The PS3 was due to hit European shops on November 17, but this morning Sony announced that the console won't be arriving till March due to delays in production of the crucial blue laser diode component.

According to Pachter, hardware shortages are still likely to occur and could continue well into next year. "I'm not as optimistic that there will be a supply-demand balance in Europe until late 2007, as the diode supply situation may take some time to balance," he stated.

However, Pachter does not believe the delayed release date will have "a tremendous amount of impact on the publishers" - noting that Ubisoft, which has at least six PS3 titles currently in development, is likely to be most affected.

"Much of the shortfall in PS3 software sales will be absorbed by higher purchases of Wii and Xbox 360 hardware and software, assuming that Nintendo has no component supply issues.

"I think on balance, this is just a bad headline, and that it will be forgotten in a year or so," Pachter concluded.