Sony Has Again Cut Their Estimate For The Number Of Playstation 3 Units Theyll Be Shipping To The U.S. By The End Of 2006. New Estimates Are Saying Only 750,000-1,000,000 Systems Will Be Available This Holiday Season.Several Stores Have Announced They Wont Even Have Enough Units To Cover The Preorders They Received. Gamestop Has Reported Theyll Only Be Receiving Enough PS3s To Cover 60 Of Their Preorders. Amazon Recently Announced They Wont Be Accepting Any Preorders For The PS3 And Cant Guarantee Theyll Have Any Before 2007.So Why Is There A Shortage Of The Playstation 3 Items Anyway?It All Goes Back To Sonys Decision To Include Their New High Definition Video Format Blu-ray. The Drive Will Allow For High Definition Gaming As Well As Allow PS3 Owners To Watch Blu-ray Movies. The PS3 Will Be The Cheapest Blu-ray Player On The Market By Far As Well Due To The Fact That Sony Is Absorbing A Few Hundred Dollar Loss On Each System Sold.The Problem With The Blu-ray Drive Is That Making The Blue Laser Diode Needed For Manufacturing The Drive Is Proving Notoriously Difficult To Manufacture. The Two Plants Producing The Diode, One Owned By Sony, Are Both Reporting Lower Than Expected Yields On Their Diodes. The Low Yields Have Forced Sony To Cut Estimates Of Having 4 Million Units Ready This Year In The U.S. To Just 1 Million. Sony Has Also Postponed The Release Of Its Own Standalone Blu-ray Player And Is Using All The Blue Laser Diodes That It Does Produce In Its Playstation 3.Although Blue Laser Diode Yield Rates Will Certainly Be Improved Over Time, In The Short Term The Problem Isnt Going To Go Away. Dont Expect To See The PS3 Sitting On Shelves In A Store Just Waiting For You To Buy It Until Well Into 2007.Thats Not To Say It Will Be Impossible To Get. For Those Willing To Pay A Premium Price On Aftermarket Sites Like EBay, There Will Be Plenty Of Playstation 3s Available.
