Sony sticks to PS3 targets

It's no secret that Sony has had some manufacturing issues with its coveted PlayStation 3. The main culprit has been the production of the system's blue laser diode, which has caused shortages of the PS3 in the US and Japan and a delay of the console's release in Europe.

But if Sony president Ryoji Chubachi's recent words are any indication, it seems Sony has ironed out the bumps in the PS3's manufacturing process. Not only that, but Sony may meet its projection of having 2 million PS3s shipped worldwide by the end of 2006 and 6 million worldwide by March 2007, when the console is scheduled to launch in Europe.

Speaking before the media in Tokyo, Chubachi said, "It is true that it took us some time to bring the PS3 to mass production as blue laser availability worked as a bottleneck. But 2 million and 6 million are within our reach," according to Reuters.

Industry watchers had expressed concern that Sony wouldn't be able to meet those numbers after launch sales results indicated that the company missed its initial shipment targets. However, Chubachi's comments seem to indicate that things are now on track for the electronics giant.

Sony was expected to have 400,000 PS3s available in North America for the system's launch, but industry-sales tracker NPD reported that only 197,000 units were sold in the US--which was expected to have the bulk of the shipment.