"Supply expected to be tight" for 40GB PS3

[TheBigFatJ]

HappySqurriel said:

They're probably announcing this to give people the impression that the system is in high demand ... If there is a supply problem it would be because of one of the following reasons:

1. The 40GB redesign was very recent and they have built up almost no supply
2. Demand is far greater than most of us would suspect
3. They're keeping supply limited to give the impression of high demand
4. They're keeping supply limited to drive sales to the more expensive system

With how they treated the 20GB I would suspect #4 ...

Your (1) cannot be the case. Remember back in July when Microsoft blew the whistle on Sony's plans to release a 40GB model? That's more than enough time to build up supply before they finally put it on the market.

(2) isn't likely the case.  No one is going to be surprised by the amount of demand -- it might be a bit higher than the $500 model, but $100 isn't going to get people to buy it in droves.

Ultimately, #4 is their primary interest.  They want to sell the $500 model to everyone who is willing to buy it, but also get sales from people only willing to pay $400 for a console.  Those people will just have to look harder.  Sony is trying to increase their overall sales, but they probably don't want to sell the cheaper model unless the person simply would not get a PS3 if it didn't exist.