Kutaragi: Sony 'Unconcerned' By Competition

British video game trade paper MCV is reporting on comments made by Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Ken Kutaragi, who noted that Sony is unconcerned by the possibility that its PlayStation 3 could be outsold by the competition's Xbox 360 and Wii platforms. “We do not care,” he stated. However, given the number of PlayStation 3 units expected for the console's November launch, this remains a very real possibility in the shorter-term. Sony went on record in early September, suggesting that just 400,000 consoles will be available for the North American launch, while only about 100,000 are expected to reach Japan in time for the console's debut in November. The console was delayed in Europe until March 2007. The limited amount of stock was reported at that time do be the result of various component supply problems, as well as difficulties surrounding the mass production of the blue laser diode used in the console’s Blu-ray disc drive, problems which this most recent report seem to suggest are still a cause for concern. “Right now, it is an issue, because we can’t manufacture enough blue laser diodes for our PlayStation 3s. But we will resolve that,” commented Kutaragi. However, despite these problems, Sony does not appear to be wavering from its earlier announced shipment forecast of six million units globally within the fiscal year ending March 2007, presumably hoping to catch up its manufacturing delay in the weeks and months after launch. In addition, the report also cited comments on the PlayStation 3's launch lineup of software titles by Sony Worldwide Studios president Phil Harrison, who commented: “We’re at a fluid time when games are in final QA but not out of final QA. But we’re close.”