Wii launch stock around 3x that of PS3

November 23rd, 2006, 17:39 Posted By: gunntims0103

news via pro-g

New information coming from analysts puts the Wii launch availability far ahead of the PS3.

Sony had intended to launch the PS3 with launch stock in the region of 400,000 units. However, in the run-up to the launch this figure began to come down to around 200,000 units. According to analyst PJ McNealy of American Technology Research the actual launch figures of the PlayStation 3 are likely to be even lower than 200,000 at between 125k and 175k.

The Wii launch was much closer to expectations with McNealy indicating that launch stock was in the region of 425k to 475k.

"This number is in-line with our expectations, and bodes well for consumers looking for a Wii this holiday season. Our research indicates that Nintendo will likely ship at least 1.5MM to 2.0MM units to North America this calendar year, which indicates that availability of the Wii both at retail and via online stores should provide buying opportunities," said McNealy.

Lazard Capital Markets analyst Colin Sebastian has also commented on the two new platforms. Sebastian expects Nintendo to ship a further 150,000-200,000 Wii consoles to North America each week in 2006, bringing 2006 shipments of the console roughly inline with pre-launch estimates.

The PS3 does not look to be fairing as well, with Sebastian estimating that the console will only ship in the region of 750,000 units, some 250,000 units shy of Sony's one million target.

Another concern for the PS3 is a relatively low software tie ratio of approximately 1.5 games per console. This falls short of the Xbox 360 tie ratio which has maintained roughly 4 games sold per console. This low figure hasn't been helped by the large percentage of early buyers who bought a PS3 to sell on eBay.

"Based on our analysis of auction listings," notes Sebastian, "we estimate that approximately 20,000 PS3s have sold on eBay since pre-orders for the console began last month, with an average auction price of approximately $1,500 (a 150% premium over the retail price)."

Whatever happens, expect some impressive spin to come from each camp when they release sales figures for their respective launches.

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