I finally tracked down that rumor, it turns out it came from Electronic Arts own Larry Probst, who told Reuters today that a supply shortage meant that Sony was only able to ship 200,000 Playstation 3 for the launch.

Probst added that he expects Sony to ship just 500,000 to 800,000 PS3s by the end of the year. Which is, of course, significantly less than Sony initially forecasted.

Keep in mind this is Electronic Arts talking about Sony PS3 sales figures, but I suspect Probst has some insight into sales that the typical man on the street doesn't.

Probst said that EA had set a lower bar for initial shipments, but "where they ended up was a bit of a surprise." ... "We think they'll get into that range," said Probst, who noted that console sales and corresponding game sales were typically slow to begin with because of supply constraints, and a clear winner will not be known for as long as five years.

Probst was full of other interesting tidbits not relating to his company as well, like the fact, he says, that 20,000 of the 200,000 PS3s were flipped on eBay.

Hit the jump for Reuter reporter's Lisa Baertlein's excellent story. Brian Crecente

By Lisa Baertlein

NEW YORK, Nov 29 (Reuters) - Electronic Arts Inc. CEO Larry Probst said on Wednesday that initial shipments of Sony Corp.'s <6758.T> new PlayStation 3 have been below his expectations due to shortages, though overall holiday sales thus far of video games and players were at or slightly ahead of targets.

His comments at the Reuters Media Summit in New York pushed down shares of EA, the world's biggest video game publisher, by nearly 2 percent.

Probst said demand for Sony's much-anticipated PlayStation 3 (PS3), which made its U.S. debut on Nov. 17 for the critical holiday season, was strong but a shortage of supply meant that only about 200,000 units of the game console were sold at retail outlets.

Sony had originally aimed to ship 400,000 PS3 units for its U.S. launch, and has not given actual figures.

Probst said that EA had set a lower bar for initial shipments, but "where they ended up was a bit of a surprise."

By the end of 2006, he expects Sony to ship 500,000 to 800,000 units.

"We think they'll get into that range," said Probst, who noted that console sales and corresponding game sales were typically slow to begin with because of supply constraints, and a clear winner will not be known for as long as five years.

This holiday season is crucial for the $30 billion global video game industry. Video game makers reap more than half of their annual sales in the end-year shopping season.

EA, whose games include titles like football game "Madden" and "The Sims," recently raised its 2006 outlook to call for flat to 5 percent growth in overall U.S. game sales. Previously, it expected overall sales to be flat to down 5 percent in 2006.

"That's a much more optimistic outlook for the year than people were previously expecting," Probst said.

"Bottom line, I would say that the first holiday weekend met or slightly exceeded expectations," he added, citing solid sales of Microsoft's Xbox 360 game console, Nintendo's <7974.OS> Wii and Sony's PlayStation 2, as well as Sony's PSP and Nintendos DS handheld devices.

SUPERMAN DISAPPOINTS

Separately, EA Chief Financial Officer Warren Jenson said at an investor conference in Arizona that the game "Superman," an important holiday title that was released later than the film, was a disappointment and that sales would fall short of company targets.

Analysts said Jenson's comments also weighed on the stock.

Large crowds had camped out for days ahead of the PS3's U.S. debut. Supplies were scarce, and Probst said some 20,000 owners were able to flip their new machines on Web auction site eBay Inc. for, on average, more than double the $600 price.

EA's shares fell 1.8 percent to $56.19 after Probst's comments, before recuperating some losses to close at $56.77, still down 0.8 percent on the Nasdaq.

Shares in Activision Inc. , the second-biggest U.S. game maker which has a smaller exposure to the PS3, fell 0.6 percent before rebounding to close up almost 2 percent at $16.58.

EA CEO Says Holiday Sales Met Forecast [Reuters]

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