Sony has shipped 1m PlayStation 3 consoles in Japan, the consumer electronics giant said yesterday, the day it hit that mark. However, the announcement was a tacit admission it has failed to hit the 2m-machine target it last year said to would reach by the end of 2006.

Last week, Sony said it had shipped 1m PS3s in the US by the end of December. However, it only passed the 2m global shipments mark yesterday. It forecast 2m PS3 shipments by the end of 2006 in September, when it also delayed the console's European introduction.

Still, Sony can boast that the PS3 has reached the 2m in less time than it took the PS2, reaching that point in a day under two months. The PS3 debuted worldwide in the US on 17 November.

All eyes are now on the company's other target: to ship 6m PS3s by the end of March, also the end of its current fiscal year. According to Reuters, investment bank Nomura Securities has cut its forecast for global PS3 shipments to 4.5m units by the end of March, citing the console's high price and the limited range of games that are available to run on it.

Nomura also cut its April 2007 to March 2008 PS3 shipments forecast from 16m units to 10m. It now expects Sony ship 11m more in 2008/09. ®