Originally posted by: Darth Chaltab
Sony only shipped 400,000 PS3s because they're having trouble with the Blu-Ray technology, not to generate false demand.

That delayed it quite a while, but not the only, or even main reason for the small number of systems being released. Remember the XBox 360 ended up going to market without the HD-DVD drive. And there was still these shortages for them, and big lines. The PS2 and X-Box had the same thing happen, big lines at opening day. Even back to the release of systems like the N64, there were only a handful of systems shipped, big shortages, and long lines at the stores. This is simply how companies release systems nowadays. Shots of big lines make news. That is what Sony is after. They want to show how 'popular' and 'in-demand' the system is and get press and generate hype.