PS3 Supply Woes: Which Console Wins?
16th Nov 2006, 10:05 GMT
This will be a heck of a week for gamers. On Friday, Sony unleashes the PlayStation 3, the much-awaited console that promises blazingly fast graphics and a slew of high-def games. On Sunday, Nintendo's Wii hits the shelves, setting the stage for a first-class brawl. A three-way brawl, that is. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is still in the mix, even though Microsoft released the console last year. To stay in the race, Microsoft announced a slew of improvements to its Xbox 360 Live service two weeks ago, including support for high-definition content and some 80 new features and tweaks. But there's a glitch in this week's showdown -- and it could be a big one. Scarce Supply There's a deep shortage of PlayStation 3 consoles, which begs the question of which company will benefit most -- Microsoft in one corner, Nintendo in the other -- from Sony's lapse. "If you look at almost all the hot toys, and that leads right up into video games, they all had some element of shortage that got them rolling," said Eric Johnson, professor of operations management at Dartmouth's Tuck School of Business and director of the Glassmeyer/McNamee Center for Digital Strategies. "But severe shortage," said Johnson, "is a different story. It can work against you, particularly in the short life cycles of these products." What's more, Sony's shortage comes at the worst possible time -- the holidays, when gift buying makes competing for hot toys a contact sport. Moms and dads who can't get their hands on a PlayStation 3 -- but need something under the tree on Christmas morning -- will be more willing to substitute a Wii or an Xbox 360 than they would in the middle of August. Fight Club "The Xbox 360 is pretty close, so I think it probably stands to benefit in some ways the most," said...
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