PS3 Supplies Still Weak at U.S. Retailers as ‘God of War III’ Arrives

PS3 console supplies remained weak in the U.S. Tuesday as Sony Computer Entertainment America released the key game God of War III. Separately, SCEA said a limited-edition Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker PSP Entertainment Pack will ship June 8 at $199.99 that includes a copy of the latest game in Konami Digital Entertainment’s Metal Gear Solid series on Universal Media Disc and the PSP-3000 handheld system in “spirited green” -- the first time that color has been available for the PSP in North America.

John Koller, SCEA director of hardware marketing, predicted at the Game Developers Conference (GDC) in San Francisco last week that SCEA was going to be in “pretty good” position on PS3 supplies in time for the game’s release (CED March 12 p2). SCEA will “make sure there’s hardware there for new consumers” coming to the PS3, he told us, predicting there will be “adequate supply at that point” on both the 120- and 250-GB PS3s, which have each been in short supply since a $100 price cut on the entry-level model in late summer. The company expects God of War III will be “a multi-million unit seller” and “platform driver,” said Peter Dille, senior vice president of marketing and PlayStation Network at SCEA, at a GDC news conference.

But no major U.S. PS3 retailer seemed to have adequate supplies of either console SKU Tuesday. The 120-GB model was sold out online at BestBuy.com. While the 250-GB SKU was in stock at the site, all six Long Island, N.Y., Best Buy stores we checked at the retailer’s Web site were out of stock on that model. The 120-GB model was “back ordered” at GameStop.com but in stock at several GameStop stores, according to that retailer’s Web site. The 250-GB version wasn’t available at GameStop.com. Walmart.com listed only four PS3 bundles and all were out of stock. The 120-GB model was out of stock at Target.com and of the 10 Long Island stores we checked at the Web site, two had limited availability on the model and the rest were out of stock. Toysrus.com listed only the 250-GB model and a bundle and both SKUs were out of stock. Amazon was the only one that had both models available, but it only had units available via third-party retailers at inflated prices, starting at $359.95 for the 120-GB SKU and $409.95 for the 250-GB model -- each about $60 more than each typically sells for. GameStop spokesman Chris Olivera said only, “We are working with Sony on the supply level.” The other retailers either declined to comment or didn’t respond by our deadline.

Despite the supply shortage, PS3 sales have been strong since the price cut, surpassing sales for the same period the prior year. Sales would have likely been even stronger if there were enough available to meet demand. The PS3 in February “enjoyed a 30 percent increase over last year” to about 360,100 units despite supply constraints,” NPD analyst Anita Frazier said Thursday (CED March 15 p8).

Extras coming with the new PSP bundle will include a 2-GB Memory Stick Pro Duo card and a PlayStation Network downloadable movie voucher for U.S. residents only, SCEA said. It didn’t specify the title of the movie.