EA's Probst Surprised by Low PS3 Shipments

November 30, 2006 | By: James Brightman

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Did Sony actually ship 400,000 PS3 units at launch? EA CEO Larry Probst (right) says no, claiming that only about half that number were sold initially. He said he was surprised by this. On the other hand, Probst noted that Wii sales exceeded expectations. More within...

Speaking at the recent Reuters Media Summit, Larry Probst, CEO of leading publisher Electronic Arts, said that Sony's initial PlayStation 3 sales came in at only half the company's original goal.

Sony, which has yet to reveal the actual shipment/sales numbers for its new console, had said that it would ship 400,000 units in North America on day one (Nov. 17). Probst, however, believes that about 200,000 consoles were sold because of severely constrained supply. He told the summit that he had prepared himself for low PS3 shipments, but "where they ended up was a bit of a surprise."

Probst currently expects Sony to ship between 500,000 and 800,000 units in the U.S. before the calendar year comes to a close. "We think they'll get into that range," he said.

SCEA only a few days ago reaffirmed that they intend to ship one million to North America this year. "Sony Computer Entertainment America has been airlifting additional shipments of PlayStation 3 systems into the North American market since the launch on November 17... We will continue to utilize airfreight delivery for the PlayStation 3 to assure a steady stream of systems for North American consumers through the end of the year. Our goal remains to have one million units in the pipeline by December 31, 2006."

Probst added that about 20,000 PS3s were auctioned off on eBay at an average price of $1,200. He also noted that a clear winner in the console war most likely won't be determined for another five years.

As for EA's sales, the publisher appears to be pleased with next-gen so far. "Bottom line, I would say that the first holiday weekend met or slightly exceeded expectations," said Probst, who cited strong sales of the Xbox 360 and Wii. Probst was particularly encouraged by the Wii. "Clearly the Nintendo Wii had a spectacular holiday," he said, adding that Wii sales came in ahead of EA's forecasts. Probst also noted that EA was boosted by continued sales of the PS2, and portables PSP and DS.

EA recently raised its outlook for the current fiscal year from flat to down 5 percent to flat to 5 percent growth. "That's a much more optimistic outlook for the year than people were previously expecting," said Probst.

EA's shares fell almost two percent following Probst's comments about the PS3 shortages.