NEW YORK -- The kids have been good all year in hopes that Santa will bring them a Sony PlayStation 2, but the coveted video game console that made its U.S. debut on Thursday will be in short supply until after the holidays.
Outside Sony's futuristic Metreon centre in San Francisco late on Wednesday night, Tony Gautier, 28, said he and his friends -- part of a line of more than 200 waiting to buy the new console -- were there "to make sure we don't have to wait until after Christmas."
Sony Computer Entertainment America, a unit of Japanese Electronics giant Sony Corp., had to halve the initial U.S. roll-out to just 500,000 consoles because of parts shortages. The company has admitted that the scaled-back launch of the snazzy game player would not be enough to meet demand.
"I think it's a testament to how big the business has become," said Jack Tretton, senior vice president of sales for Sony Computer Entertainment America.
"We're talking about $400 million in retail revenue in a matter of hours in software and hardware. It's staggering. And that's not anywhere near enough to satisfy demand."
Selling for $299 each, the PlayStation 2 has double the capacity of its popular predecessor with a 128-bit processor, plays DVDs and can access the Internet with an add-on.
Tretton referred to $150 million in hardware sales and an estimated $250 million in sales of software and peripherals such as joysticks and memory cards.
"Most kids are addicted. I'm a kid myself and I love them. Every time there's a new system I gotta buy it. You can't wait," said Igor Shaposhnikov of New York, who has offered a Japanese version for sale. That version, launched in Japan in March, would have to be converted to play U.S. games.
Japan's Sony, which on Thursday posted a 57.4 percent drop in quarterly profits, has staked a lot on the successor to the original PlayStation, the top-selling video game machine.
Sony said on Thursday it had sold a total of 3.54 million PlayStation 2 consoles so far, and reiterated that it was on track to reach its target of selling 10 million of the sleek black consoles by the end of the business year ending next March 31.
"PlayStation 2 is our important gateway to the future," Masayoshi Morimoto, Sony's senior executive vice president, told reporters in Japan.
In the United States, some retailers accepted pre-orders for the consoles before the launch, and it wasn't clear if there would be enough to fill those orders.
"Every unit we have until the end of the year is sold," said John Woodson, president of the Internet division of Babbage's Etc., a unit of Barnes & Noble Inc. that had taken more than 200,000 pre-orders for its Babbage's, Software Etc, Gamestop and Funcoland stores.
"Everything we get Thursday has been pre-sold, but we'll be able to put subsequent shipments on shelves before Christmas," said Jeff Griffiths, senior vice president of merchandising and distribution at Electronics Boutique, which has taken 100,000 pre-orders for shipment by Christmas.
Sony itself had to postpone selling the machines on its PlayStation.com site in order to divert as many units as possible to retailers.
Even retailers that did not accept pre-orders, including Wal-Mart, Kmart, and Best Buy, cautioned that units were very limited and expected to sell out swiftly.
"It's gonna be worse than Cabbage Patch Kids," said Andrew Smith, a legal assistant and PlayStation fan.
If the words "first-come-first-served" cause flashbacks to Tickle-Me-Elmo brawls, the Internet is an alternative.
Online retailers Amazon.com, Toysrus.com, and buy.com said they would have a limited number of units on hand for ordering at various hours on Thursday. On eBay, the leading online auctioneer, the bidding on a confirmed pre-order rose to $1,000 before the launch.
If all else fails, there are other video-game consoles that fit easily under the tree.
Sony rival Nintendo Co. Ltd. said its focus is going to be on games. On Thursday, Nintendo was launching a top-tier game title, "Legend of Zelda 2." Meanwhile, its "Gold" and "Silver" Pokemon games have been breaking industry sales records.
"A lot of people buy Nintendo because they love the games that are exclusive to Nintendo," said Perrin Kaplan, the company's vice president of corporate affairs. "Like having favorite authors, people have favorite developers and games."
Nintendo has 1,000 games available for all of its gaming devices, including the handheld GameBoy and Colour GameBoy, vs. 26 titles at launch for PlayStation 2.
"Hopefully retailers will be strategic so that if people go to the Sony shelves and find nothing there, there will be something neat from Nintendo and they'll still get a sale, some sale," Kaplan said.
Sony's biggest competition could come from the Dreamcast, the 128-bit console made by Sega Enterprises Ltd., which should be readily available at retail stores for $149. A unique feature is its 56K modem, which enables online competition and verbal communication between remote players.
"There's a lot of hype about PS2 being the next thing, but when it comes down to it, the online gaming piece is the future, not adding a lot of old technologies together in one bundle," said Chris Gilbert, an executive vice president of Sega of America.
Sony is still marketing its original PlayStation, which is now priced for retail at $99. The original is an entry-level game console that may be more appropriate for a younger, less experienced, or less tech-savvy player.
"We're looking to make strides in the under-12 market," said Sony Computer Entertainment spokeswoman Molly Smith. "We're offering more family-oriented and children's games and applications. We expect also to have it be a repeat purchase; you can have a couple of them in your home."
Despite the other offerings -- and the challenges -- only the PlayStation 2 will satisfy the most dedicated video-game fans, and only in the timeliest fashion.
"Right now it's the hard-core gamers," said high school student James Mazur, who saves his birthday money to buy game systems. He profited by selling a pre-order for a PlayStation 2 on eBay for $510. "But closer to Christmas," he said, "it'll be the parents shelling out."
