PS3 delay could harm publishers, notes analyst

The PAL delay of the PlayStation 3 could hurt revenues for publishers hoping to have taken advantage of a worldwide pre-Christmas launch of the console, with a potential 500,000 European gamers no longer viable consumers.

That's the opinion of UBS Investment Research analyst Michael Wallace, who also noted that the situation may prompt some publishers to delay the launch of their titles to take advantage of a larger market when the PS3 launches in March.

Wallace had expected Europe to receive 500,000 console units by Christmas, and noted that large publishers such as Activision may suffer from building their Q4 targets around the launch of the PlayStation 3.

Publishers that have hedged their bets with titles across multiple formats, including Nintendo's Wii, had a better chance of making up losses, said Wallace.

Shares in Sony fell yesterday by 2.75 per cent after another analyst, from Macquire Equities, issued a statement of concern about the PlayStation 3 units at this years' Tokyo Game Show which suffered from overheating problems.

"We are concerned that such a problem has occurred so close to full production and is clearly negative news for the company," said the firm.

Sony spokesperson Nanako Kato has since clarified the company's position to the Associated Press, stating that 200 units grouped closely together with little ventilation had caused the problems, and not any manufacturing fault.

"It's not a problem with the PlayStation 3 unit itself. For a normal player at home, there shouldn't be any problem," he said.

Yesterday investment firm Goldman Sachs lowered Sony's stock rating from 'buy' to 'neutral', amid concerns of disappointing PSP sales and confusion over the launch of the PlayStation 3.