PSP Shortage in Japan
It appears that Sony have gone the way of the PS2 when it comes to the new PSP release. A major shortage is to be expected in Japan already, possibly being followed by an American and European shortage. Sony is currently making claims of “manufacturing problems”, and thus - December 12th in Japan will only see 200,000 units. Sony has made intentions of shipping another 100,000 units in the following week, and are hoping to reach the 500,000 mark by 2005.
To me, this brings back some violent memories of the PS2’s release - how short the shipments were. Back then it created them a massive demand and success due to lack of competition - the lack of a high number of PS2’s was an excellent marketting tool, and only ensured their success with massive public exposure. However, that was when their only competition was going out of the hardware business ala Dreamcast, or not currently out yet ala Xbox and Gamecube. The timing for them to perform such cruel acts to the consumers was spot on for their marketting. However, this time around, they have a fresh, running competitor on the market, and wether this will be another case of history repeating itself and helping sony’s marketers, or encouragement to eager PSP enthusiasts to switch over to the DS - only time will tell.
Needless to say - I think this is bad news to importers, as it may not only be more difficult to import a PSP, but it also may make it more costly.
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