Sony PlayStation 3 Misses U.S. Target, Loses to Wii (Update7)

Dec. 8 (Bloomberg) -- Sony Corp. missed its targets for PlayStation 3 consoles in the U.S. last month after parts shortages slowed production, researcher NPD Group Inc. estimated. Nintendo Co.'s Wii outsold the game console by more than 2-to-1.

The PlayStation 3, introduced in the U.S. on Nov. 17, sold 197,000 units, falling short of Sony's 400,000 goal. The Wii, which made its debut two days later, sold 476,000 units, Port Washington, New York-based NPD said in an e-mail yesterday.

Sony, the world's second-largest consumer electronics maker, today reiterated a plan to ship 6 million PlayStation 3s by March 2007, including 1 million each in Japan and the U.S. by this year. Tokyo-based Sony, which said in November it was airlifting consoles to the U.S. to meet demand, named Kaz Hirai to replace PlayStation creator Ken Kutaragi to run the games division.

``There's no way that Sony will make its forecast for 1 million units in the U.S. this calendar year,'' said Evan Wilson, an analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Oregon, who rates Sony shares ``sector perform.'' ``They will face supply constraints at least through March.''

Nanako Kato, a Tokyo-based spokeswoman at Sony Computer Entertainment, declined to comment on NPD's estimates. Kato said Sony is sticking to its shipment plans for the PlayStation 3.

While the PlayStation 3 sells for as much as $600, more than twice the cost of the Wii, it is attracting customers with its graphics, online gaming features and Blu-ray DVD player. The Wii is luring users with its $250 price tag and a motion-sensor that enables them to play virtual tennis and golf.

Christmas Sales

Sony's American depositary receipts rose 20 cents to $40.10 at 4 p.m. in New York Stock Exchange composite trading. Nintendo's receipts rose 35 cents to $30.

Sony's 1.75 percent notes due in 2015 fell 0.168 to 99.007, according to Japan Securities Dealers Association. The decline pushed up the yields on the bonds to 1.879 percent. The yen-denominated securities have declined from 99.459 since last week.

``Well more than a million Wii systems'' will be available in the U.S. by the end of the year, Kyoto, Japan-based Nintendo said in a statement yesterday. The company sold about 372,000 units in the first two days in Japan, said Enterbrain Inc., a Tokyo-based video game researcher and magazine publisher.

Nintendo President Satoru Iwata yesterday reiterated the company's forecast of selling 6 million Wii consoles worldwide by March. The company expects to sell 4 million Wii consoles globally by Dec. 31, including 50,000 units in Australia, where the player went on sale yesterday.

The company, which is shipping 250,000 Wiis to the U.S. each week, hasn't been keeping up with demand, said Anita Frazier, an analyst at NPD.

``I have no doubt that many more could have sold if there had been more inventory,'' she said.

Nice Rebound

In November, Microsoft Corp. sold 511,000 units of its Xbox 360, which began selling a year ago, according to NPD.

The Redmond, Washington-based company may exceed its forecast to sell 10 million Xbox 360s by the end of the year, on a ``very strong Thanksgiving holiday,'' Peter Moore, a vice president, said on Dec. 5.

The Xbox 360 ``rebounded nicely'' from a slow summer because of Sony's problems and Microsoft's release of ``Gears of War,'' Pacific Crest's Wilson said. That was the top-selling console game in November, with 1 million units sold, according to NPD.

In its first month on the market in November 2005, Xbox 360 did a better job at selling games than PlayStation 3 did in its first month, according to Microsoft spokeswoman Molly O'Donnell. One Xbox 360 debut title, ``Call of Duty 2'' sold more copies in November 2005 than Sony's entire portfolio of games sold in November 2006, she said.

Sony's PlayStation 2, introduced in 2000, was more popular than all three of the newer machines, selling 664,000 units in the month.

NPD tracks sales based on data from the majority of U.S. retailers. The company doesn't receive data from some, including Wal-Mart Stores Inc., the world's largest retailer, and estimates to make up for the missing information.

To contact the reporter on this story: Dina Bass in Seattle at dbass2@bloomberg.net.

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Emma Moody at emoody@bloomberg.net.