From next-gen.biz:
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Next-Gen speaks with Michael Pachter of Wedbush Morgan Securities, who said that today's announced PS3 launch shortfall "isn't a big deal in the long run."

Although Sony announced today a European PS3 delay, and only 500,000 PS3 hardware units would be available for launch (400,000 for North America, 100,000 for Japan), Pachter said that Sony's situation isn't as dire as many may make it out to be.

"[The launch revamp is] not a big deal in the long run," Pachter told Next-Gen. "The people who were going to buy PS3 and Wii will buy them both still, albeit in a different order. Few people were going to buy Xbox 360 and PS3 both (too expensive and too similar), so there may be a small number of people (200,000?) who buy a 360 instead of a PS3. That number represents lost sales forever. The balance will be ultimately captured by Sony, and the launch delay will be a rounding error in the long run."

He also told Next-Gen about the "revised" launch's effect on retail. "Retailers in the US are largely unaffected," Pachter said. "Retailers in Europe have a serious problem, and it will have an impact. They will get some substitution from Xbox 360 and Wii, but not a full offset (likely 50 percent), and then at lower prices. I would expect retailers to suffer some from the delay."

Despite Sony's damaging news today, the company has maintained that it will still deliver on the promise of six million PS3s shipped by the end of the fiscal year ending March 2007. Pachter thinks that "It's not likely that Sony will meet its commitment," but conceded, "I'm not in a position to second guess them."
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