Retail industry sources claim the electronics giant has had as many as 20,000 pre-orders of the £425 console cancelled in the run-up to its delayed launch last Friday.
There have been none of the stock shortages typical of earlier console launches and the majority of the cancelled pre-orders are believed to have come from speculators hoping to sell the units on eBay for a profit.
Virgin Megastores claims to have ordered significantly more PS3 consoles than rival Nintendo Wiis or Xbox 360s, both of which sold out within 48 hours of hitting the shops before Christmas. However, it has sold only two-thirds of the several thousand PS3s available in its UK stores.
In an attempt to generate buzz around the launch, Sony offered a free Bravia TV worth £2000 to the first 125 gamers to purchase a console.
'The launch of the Play-Station 3 has been a victim of its own success,' said Stephen Lynne, senior promotions and partnerships manager at Virgin Megastores. 'There are so many available that consumers know they can get one when-ever they want.'
Sony is understood to have made 220,000 consoles available in the UK and retailers are yet to report the supply problems that have hit the launch of rivals. However, analysts are warning against interpreting the absence of a stock shortage as a negative sign.
Production problems forced Sony to confine the console's launch to North America and Japan last November. Its European roll-out was delayed by four months, which meant it missed the key festive sales period. Many speculate that Sony will cut the price later this year to boost take-up.
'This time next week we could be saying that the PlayStation 3 has been the most successful console launch ever,' said Nick Parker, an analyst at Screen Digest. 'Take-up was always going to be slower than that of its rivals because of its higher price tag.'
The PlayStation 2 won the last round of the console wars, selling more than 115m units globally. However, the PS3 is trailing in third in this latest battle. It has reportedly sold 1.5m units worldwide, compared with 5m Wiis and more than 10m Xbox 360s.
