Tomorrow the PlayStation 3 will officially become a consumer product when units of the next gen console begins to go on sale in Japan.
History seems to be repeating itself again though as just like in the previous launches of the PlayStation 2 and the PSP, hardcore gamers are beginning to lineup in electronics stores all across Japan hoping that they will be able to get themselves a PlayStation 3 game console by the time the store opens on November 11.
In fact, as early as 6 pm in Japan people have already begun to wait in line. The wait though could be all for naught because Sony has announced before that only 100,000 units will be allotted to Japan during launch. The company has suffered a number of setbacks during the production of the game console that forced them to reduce the number of units that will be delivered all over the world. The setbacks were mostly centered around delays in the manufacturing of the blu-ray lens that is a crucial component of the console. There are reports trickling down right now though that, in reality, it looks like Sony will only be able to deliver 80,000 units to stores all over Japan. This shortage could be detrimental for the PlayStation 3’s push for market dominance, according to some critics. Personally though, I think the shortage will not affect the number of people who are going to buy the unit. The PlayStation 2 also suffered from the same launch problems and yet look at where it is now.