Kaz Hirai talks about supply and demand issues with the PS3
Sony has an interesting "strategy": low supply creates high demand. Ah, the wonders of basic economics concerning luxury goods. In any case, Kaz Hirai recently sat down to an interview and discussed the whole PS3 supply/demand issue, among other things. Let's highlight the big points, shall we?- To compensate for the limited supply, Kaz says that Sony is chartering flights to bring systems to North America faster -- normally, items of PS3 size/weight are sent via boat. Production is ramping up also, but still... chartering flights is way more expensive than boats. Thanks, we guess?
- Shipments would like to be weekly to keep up with demand, but that's up to consumers. As for grabbing one off of a retail shelf casually, that's also up to the demand of consumers and Kaz has no idea when the surplus will kick in.
- Kaz says that Sony does not favor one retailer over another, so if your pre-order falls through due to unit allocation, it's the store's fault... not Sony's.
- No price cut in North America for the 20GB model. Oh well, who wants that one anyway?
- The bottleneck in production came from the blue laser diodes, but that's been fixed. Even so, says Kaz, "you do have a ramp-up period. You suddenly can't go from zero one day to 100,000 units the next day."
- Support for the PS2 will continue for some time -- unlike other console companies who drop an old console overnight.
- Kaz assures us that PS2 and PSOne titles that have compatibility issues will be ironed out with firmware updates. That's the beauty with the PS3!
Overall, it was a good interview. Nothing necessarily groundbreaking was revealed, but it's always nice to be reassured that things are okay, even if they're not. If your dog died, you'd want a hug from your mom and not a silent crying session... or something. The point is, being told nice things is nice. How can you possibly disagree?
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
Justin @ Dec 4th 2006 2:21PM
If anyone's still having trouble finding these things I HIGHLY recommend giving http://www.itrackr.com a try. A friend and I were able to get our PS3's from our local target when it notified me on my cellphone yesterday. It tracks your local stores in real-time.
The service is free to use, and you can pay a measly $2 to receive the instant alerts. I've never seen a tracking service like this one before.
Onomah @ Dec 4th 2006 2:28PM
Mr Justin, Do you by any chance WORK for that website?
Matthew @ Dec 4th 2006 3:16PM
Ahhh okay, now delete the post above me so people can become less informed...
when it comes to getting a PS3...I am selfish.
Justin @ Dec 4th 2006 4:19PM
Onomah,
Nope, i saw the site posted on the official ps3 boards:
http://boardsus.playstation.com/playstation/board/message?board.id=launch&thread.id=49076&view=by_date_ascending&page=10
reguy @ Dec 4th 2006 4:19PM
How can you possibly disagree?
A: True i cant =)
nick, i've bee thinking, i usually just comment when i disagree with you, but thats not really fair to you.
I know you dont need me to validate you, but you really are a good writer.
Tobias @ Dec 4th 2006 4:29PM
I think it was well publicized that we had some issues initially with laser diode production (used in the Blu-ray disc player). Those issues have been ironed out, but with any component, whether it's laser diodes or anything else, you do have a ramp-up period. You suddenly can't go from zero one day to 100,000 units the next day.
Dahk @ Dec 4th 2006 6:19PM
Wow hedon. Where you at?
Every store near me is still completley sold out. Please buy one and ebay it to me. Thanks.
Consoles no longer turning on? Haven't even heard of that rumour. You sure it wasn't a fake unit? If it wasnt, my bad. Overheating? *drops subtle hint* I'll attach that 360 cooler to my ps3 (when I damn get one).
In any case, amazing metaphor nickyman =) Hehe. Luckily I only have fish. And when that died... i bought a new one, and played my ps2.
Microdot @ Dec 4th 2006 6:41PM
"A day late and a dollar short. The demand is pretty much washed up. They are already on shelves at my local walmarts. People (besides hardcore gamers) are not wanting to the pay the price. In addition, it's been a huge let down with lots of problems (overheating, consoles just no longer turning on, lack of HD upscaling, and the graphics are worse than the 360 graphics).
So long Sony. Welcome to the new world of gaming. 360 and Wii."
holy crybaby!!!!!!!! post some stats to back up your claims, or shut the fuck up imbecile. when we look at stat-tracker... it shows the ps3 sold out at every major retailer across the board. and "problems"????? really? one guy gets a malfunctioning bdrom drive, and another decides to smother his ps3 in a blanket because he thought it was cold... and this is an epidemic? this has so far, been one of the smoothest launches (outside of the lack of quantity) that sony has ever had. or well... anyone for that matter.
Scott Krueger @ Dec 4th 2006 7:55PM
The Hedon is Full of it.
Go Back to XBox360Fanboy.com dude.
I own Both and I can say "Nice Try Mr Gates"
The 360 does not look better than the PS3 and it is certainly not cheaper. I bought one, Call this cheaper?;
$399 360
$ 99 Live $49 Every Year (Year 2 in November)
$199 HD-DVD
$100 XBox1 Gamesaves XSATA + Memory Cards. To move my XBox1 Gamesaves over to 360.
-----------------------------
$797 Thats $800 Total
PS3 Base model is $499
The PS3 Premium is $599 ($600) but that comes with built in wireless and a 60Gig HardDrive. Xbox360 Wireless adapter is another $99. Wow... Now we are getting damn close to $900 and I only have a 20 Gig HardDrive that is always getting too full.
Crazyglues @ Dec 4th 2006 8:49PM
tracking website my ass.... someone ban this fool.. Justin
pure spam.... itrackr.com is pure trash... not only do they find nothing for free but for a 1.99 they will hit you on your cell phone... ok spammer..
hmmm... here's a thought why don't i just call the store...
Justin @ Dec 4th 2006 10:28PM
umm whatever dood. instead of blowing up, why don't you just take the time to read what everyone else on that board is saying about it.
just trying to give peeps the heads up, no need to shoot the messenger..
Andir2.0 @ Dec 5th 2006 12:13AM
Crazyglues:
Sign up with a temporary email and put in your zip code. You don't have to pay unless you want it to notify you via IMs or email. Even if you don't pay, it will give you the supposed store(s) in the area that have it and they provide a phone number too. I actually think it's a pretty good idea, though I'm not giving them my card # for a $2 transaction for a one time notification. I'll check the site often and call the stores using the numbers provided.
You don't have to pay to get use of the service. Just don't give them any information that you want kept private.
Hoopster @ Dec 5th 2006 9:17AM
bah, i aint want no 20 gb model, i had to turn one down already, now, gimme one of 'em 6t giggers
GL @ Dec 5th 2006 9:33PM
LOL! Great post Microdot!
Dreadhead541 @ Dec 5th 2006 10:43PM
why does he look so fat in that picture?
Aex @ Dec 6th 2006 12:05AM
"this has so far, been one of the smoothest launches (outside of the lack of quantity) that sony has ever had. or well... anyone for that matter."
Come on Microdot, you have gotta admit, the Wii had a really nice launch. Plenty of units, and more still comming. Tho, I agree with basically everything else you've said.
Isagani @ Dec 6th 2006 1:46AM
In the words of Stephen Colbert... "I Gots Me One!!!" BestBuy near my house had about 25-30 of them this morning and boy did they go quick.. tons of people waiting before the store opened; lots of the looking for the new pirates dvd