Citing manufacturing difficulties, Sony announced early this morning the European launch of the upcoming PlayStation 3 has been delayed until March 2007. During their E3 press conference earlier this year, Sony had previously committed to launching the PlayStation 3 in Europe four months earlier, on November 17, 2006.

Though the US and Japanese launch dates, respectively scheduled for November 11 and November 17, are unaffected by this delay, the allocation of units has undergone a significant reduction. Previously, Sony had planned to have 2 million units available at launch, but due to the manufacturing problems, Sony has lowered their initial estimations by 75%, with only 500k units expected. Of these 500k, 400k are reserved for the US market, with only 100k set aside for the Japanese market.

The manufacturing difficulties are said to result from production issues with the diode of the Blu-ray laser, a key component in the PlayStation 3. The Blu-ray drive has been one of the PlayStation 3's most touted features, and will allow users to both play games and watch movies on the high-capacity disc format. Rumors regarding complications with said diode have been circulating for months, but this is the first time Sony has publicly acknowledged the reports.

Despite the delay and reduction, Sony remains confident in their ability to meet their previously announced goal of shipping 6 million PlayStation 3 units within the fiscal year ending. "We are on track to meeting our goals with this important launch," commented Kaz Hirai, president and chief executive office of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "It is also important to note that the previously announced global PlayStation 3 shipment forecast of six million units within the fiscal year ending 2007 has not changed."

Interestingly, the delay and reduction comes just a few days after Mistubishi UFJ securities cut its estimates of PS3 sales by half, blaming a lack of cutting-edge parts as the culprit. That news caused shares in Sony Corp. to drop more than 3 percent during afternoon trading. The long-term implications of this news remain unclear, though Hirai is optimistc in Sony's ability to retain its market share across the coming generation.