Sony Reduces UK PS2 Allocations

Sony has reduced the number of consoles that will be shipped for the PlayStation 2 launch in the UK. The company had hoped to ship 1 million units in Europe, but it was forced to cut that allocation to 500,000 because of component shortages and manufacturing problems. Originally, 200,000 units were allocated to the UK market. However, Sony has now reduced that number to a mere 165,000 units, and it has instructed all retailers in the UK to stop PS2 preorders.

Despite the reduced shipment, Sony expects to meet all existing preorders with the 165,000 launch units. Earlier this year, the company had to reschedule the European launch of the PS2 from October 26 to November 24. More recently, it released 500,000 PS2 units for the North American launch - half of the promised 1 million units, again due to its manufacturing problems with PS2 components.