Sony Hardware in decline

In an extraordinary public statement of regret and despair over having to postpone his company's PlayStation 3 debut in Europe and Australia until March, and to limit availability elsewhere to only 500,000 units come November, Sony Computer Entertainment President Ken Kutaragi is quoted by Reuters as having told reporters, "If you asked me if Sony's strength in hardware was in decline, right now I guess I would have to say that might be true."

Kutaragi's comments come as his company struggles to reassure customers in North America and Japan that there's still something to look forward to before the holidays. Sony senior corporate communications director Dave Karraker reassured BetaNews this week that November 17 continues to be the PS3's North American launch date, although only an estimated 400,000 units will have shipped to retailers here by that date.