Sony shares dropped 2.75 percent today in the wake of reports that PlayStation 3 units had to be frequently reset at the 2006 Tokyo Game Show; Sony says problems caused by high temperatures at venue.
A report from Macquarie Equities analyst David Gibson helped spur investor concern over Sony’s next generation machine.
"While the reason for [the PS3’s technical difficulties] is unknown, we suspect it may be due to overheating as a result of enclosing the units and the high temperatures at the [TGS] venue," Gibson wrote in a report. "We are concerned that such a problem has occurred so close to full production and is clearly negative news for the company."
Shares for Sony dropped 130 yen ($1.11) on Tuesday on the Tokyo Stock Exchange following the report.
Sony spokesperson Nanako Kato clarified the company's position on the matter to the
Associated Press, saying that the 200 PS3s at TGS were grouped closely together in poorly ventilated in kiosks causing overheating issues and subsequent failures.
Kato said, “It's not a problem with the PlayStation 3 unit itself. For a normal player at home, there shouldn't be any problem."
SCEA hadn’t replied to Next-Gen’s inquiries on the matter as of press time.