Back in August, I wrote a story about the fact that Sony had yet to begin production of the PS3. At that time, I predicted only 11 PS3s would make it to market on launch day. Today we find out that Sony has halved the expected number of consoles meaning my new prediction is 5 and a 1/2.

Because of the manufacturing problmes that Sony is experiencing, they have announced a bombshell: the PS3 is to be delayed in Europe until March. The US and Japanese launch are also to be affected with 400,000 units available in the US and 100,000 in Japan on launch day (Joystiq).

Let's take a look at these numbers...

Here's what Sony claimed up until today: 2 million units on launch day, 3-4 million by the end of the year, and 6 million by March.

Here's what Sony now claims: 500,000 available on launch day, 2 million by the end of the year, and still 6 million by March.

So, 500,00 available on launch day, which is 2 months and a week away (Nov. 17). Between now and then, Sony will only be able to produce 500,000 consoles? Wow. Then, magically, by the end of the year, they'll have 2 million? What this means to me is that they aren't even close to producing PS3s. It could still be another month before finished PS3s roll off the line. And, I'd also surmise that they won't have 2 million consoles by the end of the year.

In other words, Sony is toast. Not only have they disappointed Europe, but with such measly numbers for Japan and the US, launch day is not going to be a cause for celebration, but rather for anger.

Enter the Xbox 360 and NIntendo Wii. The 360 will have another Christmas in Europe to make further inroads into Sony's market share, and with the Wii launching in what should be adequate supply, Nintendo will also make great gains. If you have Sony stock, you should sell it and sell it fast!

Thanks to Trancemaster for posting this story on the boards.