Sony had planned to launch the new version of its blockbuster PlayStation console in November, setting the stage for a three-way showdown with Microsoft and Nintendo during the key holiday-shopping season.
Ken Kutaragi, the head of Sony's game unit and known as the "father of the PlayStation", told reporters that Sony will ship 2 million PS3 units this year--half a previously forecast 4 million--but will make up the lost ground to hit a target of 6 million consoles shipped by March.
Sony said it still planned to launch the PS3 on Nov. 11 in Japan and on Nov. 17 in the United States.
The game console is the widely awaited successor to the PlayStation 2, of which 100 million units have been sold since its launch in 2000.
Flagging potential problems with the PS3 launch, Mitsubishi UFJ Securities last month cut by half its shipment forecast to 3 million of the new PlayStations in the current business year to March, citing Sony's difficulties in procuring its cutting-edge parts.
The success or failure of the PS3 will have a far-reaching impact on Sony's group earnings.
At stake is more than just pole position in the nearly $30 billion video game industry, but also dominance in next-generation DVDs and the commercial viability of the Cell chip co-developed with Toshiba and IBM.
The PlayStation 3 comes with a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player.
Sony holds high hopes that the PlayStation 3 will help Blu-ray technology conquer the rival HD DVD format in becoming the standard for the next-generation DVD. HD DVD is backed by a group of companies lead by Toshiba.