"PS3 demand slows, stores stocked aplenty"

[DreamsCast]

With the 2006 holiday season firmly behind us, all "next-gen" consoles are out of the gate and running. Sony has announced that the company has shipped 1 million PlayStation 3 consoles and says that they are on track for their European launch in March. Now that the mad holiday rush is over, however, Sony's challenges are just now mounting. Without a doubt, the PS3 launch was something to behold: news stories of insanely long lines, fatal shootings and occasional muggings made it clear that in the early days, getting a PS3 was darn near impossible. Many saw the PS3 as pure eBay gold. Reality has set in, however. Suddenly PS3 speculators can't unload their units on eBay for a profit. Gaming blogs have started joking that the PS3 excels at collecting dust on shelves. Has demand really died down that quickly? We decided to find out by checking stores in the Cincinnati and Boston metropolitan regions. The results are unambiguous: the PlayStation 3 is in stock, almost everywhere. In Cincinnati, there were PS3s at multiple Wal-Marts, GameStops, and Circuit City stores. The numbers went from only one system at the first Wal-Mart store to 15 at the second; everyone else seemed to have under ten units, mixed between the 20GB and 60GB models. If you want to buy a PS3, it's simply a matter of going to the right store or ordering from Best Buy or Circuit City online, both of which have them in stock, ready to ship. The same can be said for the Xbox 360, which is also available everywhere we checked. The Wii, on the other hand, has been sold out everywhere, with vague rumors of another shipment in the next few days. One retailer spoke to me on condition of anonymity, and broke down his version of the situation. "It's not that we've gotten more PS3s than Wiis, it's just that no one wants them. We've seen a few returned. We have four in the store right now," he said. He also told of people coming in with multiple systems and no receipts, looking for cash back after their eBay listings failed to gather attention. "If you told me that I would have PS3s to sell and that I won't be able to get enough Wiis back in October, I would have laughed at you," he went on. He also detailed a memo from a regional vice president telling managers to put up a hand-written note telling customers that the PS3 is in stock. Without any clear numbers outside of the 1 million shipped in North America, it's hard to say if demand for the PS3 is cooling or if supply is simply catching up. Recall that it wasn't until spring was nearly here last year that Microsoft was able to meet the initial demand. It's not the case that the PS3 isn't selling well, however. One store manager revealed that they have sold 24 of 28 launch units, and most others who would talk to us told similar tales. Sales are strong; they're simply not as strong as many expected and a few even hoped. The rush for the PS3 is over, and now it's up to Sony to get the games and updates needed to put the PS3 back in the minds of gamers to move this inventory. This is a marathon, not a sprint, but the widespread availability has to be troubling to Sony. When the "sold out" stories quickly become "inventory stacked to the ceiling a month later" stories, shareholders may become somewhat unsettled by how strong the competition has become. http://arstechnica.com/news.ars/post/20070108-8574.html