14 DAY TRIAL // Here's something you surely didn't think was possible, given that you are a PlayStation fan and that your whole life revolves around it, knowing every itsy bitsy detail about the wonderful machine Sony still has on the launching pad for PAL territories. In an interview with Reuters, SCEA President Jack Tretton stated that the PS3 was still out of stock in some areas 3 months after its launch. This fact is in a very close relation with the current shortage of PS3s in North America.
Tretton assures PS3 awaiting fans that this won't be the case in Europe or other PAL territories waiting for the console to be launched: "Our goal is to fill shelves across the United States. Our goal is not to have empty shelves, it's to have full shelves. If we have empty shelves, that's one less consumer who could have bought a PlayStation 3." All right, we trust them to do a good job with the PS3 in Europe, Africa and Australia but as Tretton says, Sony still has some unfinished business in the US.
It is well known that product shortage can either lead to angry customers that will eventually turn into something similar, or disappointed long time fans that will eventually...well, do the same thing obviously, that is to turn to other systems.
Still, Sony promises to solve the problem concerning the PS3 shortage in North America by May. The only question remaining is: how are folks at Sony going to manage selectively filling up empty shelves in N America, while also having to prepare the console's launch on three other continents? Maybe that's the exact reason why it's taking them until May to fill up shelves once again.