Sony announced today that their initial shipment quantities for the highly anticipated PlayStation 3 would be drastically reduced for the U.S. and Japanese markets, and completely unavailable in Europe for the slated November launch. Problems with mass production of Blu-ray lasers are the cause of the manufacturing slowdown, reported Sony Computer Entertainment President and CEO Ken Kutaragi.

If you thought there was a shortage of Xbox 360s at launch be prepared for an equivalent or possibly even worse shortage for the PS3. The U.S. will be allocated around 400,000 units, while Japan will only receive a mere 100,000 units for the November launch. Sorry, but Europe, the Middle East, and Australia will have to wait until March 2007 to get their hands on a PlayStation 3. It seems that it is going to be a nightmare trying to fulfill that holiday wish list when little Johnny scribbles PlayStation 3 all over it. On the bright side, there is always eBay. Let the bidding wars begin!

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