PS3 slipping…

Lots of news from Sony the past few days. It wasn’t too long ago (August 22) that they clarified they were still on track for 2 million units at launch.
Unfortunately, today they announced that number will actually be 500,000: 400,000 for the US, 100,000 for Japan, and Europe will be delayed four months. That’s a big potential hit for publishers who were betting on PS3 launch titles for their Christmas season financials. Blu-Ray laser diodes are to blame for the slip.
It’s certainly an interesting environment for the new head of PR at Sony Computer Entertainment America to jump into. Molly Smith’s replacement, Dave Karraker, was most recently the head of PR for Allied Domecq Spirits and Wine. Allied Domecq is responsible for Beefeater, Laphroaig, Courvoisier, Kahlua, Perrier Jouet, Sauza, etc.
Hopefully this won’t give Jack Thompson some more ammo for his arguments. 😉
It is interesting to see this hire at SCEA, especially following the hire of Phil Rosenberg as VP Business Development. Neither of these gentlemen really seem to have recent videogame-oriented experience. However, they certainly have a substantial amount of relevant non-videogame experience. SCEA seems to feel that their actions and history are more important than the particular product they’re talking about. Will this work out? Perhaps… one thing is for certain though, hiring in executives will certainly not encourage lower-level managers in the company to stick around if they are interested in growth, or career opportunities.
Lastly, Sony Europe has put up the first few PS3 marketing videos. Check them out if you haven’t!