It's quite possible that people still trying to get their hands on a PS3 or Wii will have to wait until after March of next year just so their next-gen console of choice becomes less harder to find than it is now.

For PS3 fans, the wait might have to be longer. American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy says that the PS3 will likely remain scarce through the June quarter. "They have to launch in Europe, and they're stretched," said McNealy. Supplies of the Wii, on the other hand, could pick up in the March quarter according to McNealy.

PS3 shipments for this shopping season were small and sporadic according to a dozen Southern California stores. The numbers ranged from as few as one or two units to 25 ("We get 1 or 2 every week to week and a half," said one Los Angeles GameStop employee). Whatever the numbers, though, shoppers inevitably snapped the available units up almost as soon as they arrived. The same thing is happening to Wii consoles.

So what's expected to be the bestselling console this season? The PS2, which has already sold more than 106 million units globally.

The last big push. Sunday, December 17, 2006. The last big push for retail sales before Christmas in the U.S. - and probably in Canada too (any Canadians out there want to verify this?). For the video game industry, this means this is the last weekend to really focus on next-gen console sales before Christmas.

PS3s and PS2s. If Paul-Jon "PJ" McNealy of American Technology Research (market/sales analyst) was right, then there's very little about the PS3 in this weekend's circulars because retailers would rather focus on the PS2 (which is still doing very well). Still, he expects that 800,000 to 900,000 PS3 units will be sold by the end of the year.

Wii. PJ McNealy calls it one of the hottest toys for this holiday in North America. He expects sales between 1.3 million and 1.5 million Wii consoles by the end of the year (we're assuming he's talking about North America or U.S. sales because the Wii has exceeded 2 million units sold worldwide).

Xbox 360. According to McNealy, the Xbox should reach its target of 10 million units sold by the end of the year.

Software. He rates software publisher Electronic Arts ahead of Activision, THQ, and Take-Two Interactive because EA is "benefiting from the strong PS2 catalog sales, as well as from its line-up of holiday Xbox 360 titles."

So we'll see you guys tonight after you've spent your whole day frantically rushing from mall or outlet to another. Good luck.

And for those of you who took PJ McNealy seriously earlier this week and decided to camp out, welcome back to the land of the living. How was the camp out, and did you get what you lined up for?

Finally, if you're looking for PS3s, and you still don't have one at the end of the day... well, don't you agree that odds are slim that you'll find one before Christmas? Today is the last big push, after all - and if you don't get one today, it currently looks doubtful (but not impossible) that major retailers will get another shipment of PS3s before Christmas.

Financial analyst company American Technology Research (ATR) says Apple is right for the picking if your shopping for stocks. Historically, the company's value skyrockets after its annual MacWorld Expo held at the start of the year. But ATR thinks the ship will launch even before.

According to ATR, Apple's stocks will continue to float thanks to the Mac and iPod record-setting sales during the September Quarter which is predicted to continue into the holiday shopping season. Included in Apples catalog of winners for the next quarter are the MacBook notebooks and the new MacBook Pro running on Intel's Core 2 Duo processors.

Fifth-generation iPod video sales aren't slacking off, either. Apple's aggressive pricing, improved battery life, higher video resolution, movie content and video games are some of the factors that continue to fuel the iCraze. "We believe improved video battery life, higher video resolution, movie content, and video games are helping drive sales," ATR said. "Nanos continue to rebound helped by lower price points, 24-hour battery life, multiple colors, and scratch-resistant casing."

Then there's the new entry-level iPod shuffle. The $79 iBargain could be the top selling iPod this quarter says ATR. All in all ATR forecasts Apple's last quarter fortune to be around US$6.1 billion in revenues from the estimated sales of14 million iPods and 1.8 million Macs.

What happens after year 2006? ATR says Apple will continue to be a crunchy investment with the launch of its Mac OS X Leopard, iTV, movie content partners beyond Disney, new iPod features including widescreen and wireless Bluetooth capability, and cell phones.

Citizen high, citizen low. While that story about the PS3 purportedly overheating at TGS 2006 continues to rumble both through the press and through the stock market, an old, familiar name is "upbeat" about Sony being able to meet their target of two million PS3 units shipped by the end of December. That, even with the launch cut.

P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research (you know he's a familiar name because we got him tagged) says that, based on his research, he believes that production of the console is now at full steam: "It is our opinion that given the 13 weeks or so of production time, SNE can still come close to its forecast of 2 million units worldwide by the end of December."

He's done game industry-related research before, and, well, he's got mixed results. For example, he did blow the call he made to CNN Money that Sony would cut PSP prices. On the other hand, he did note back in early July that Sony would have a bit of a problem manufacturing the PS3.

Well, economics can be a *female dog* - take it from one who has studied it as a profession - but let's hope that McNealy's right on this one, and that he did his homework well on this.

There's been much talk about Apple's big media event on September 12. And yes, there have been rumors, lots of rumors, about what they're going to reveal next week. What will it be, really? A new product in the whole iThis, iThat, iFranchise? American Technology Research analyst Shaw Wu has an idea.

Their research has shown that an Apple smartphone has moved from concept stage, to prototype, to testing, and to what could now be nearing completion as a production unit. An Apple smartphone? Yes, it seems as if its already been under development for twelve months now, with Apple trying to produce the right blend of cell phone and media player. And Wu has provided us with a rather detailed account of what we could expect:

"The design will be an iPod nano-like candy bar form factor and come in three colors (we are not certain of the exact colors but we suspect black, white, and platinum, similar to Apple's current color scheme of iPods and iMacs)."

Errr... "Candy bar form?" Well, it definitely sounds intriguing, and all we can do is sit and wait patiently for Steve Jobs to finally spill the beans by next week. Still, an iPod-phone will definitely revolutionize the mobile-media-device arena, and we're definitely keeping our fingers crossed for this.

Industry analysts at American Technology Research think Apple's next-gen iPod could be be capable of playing 3D video games after they believe NVIDIA signed a deal with the company. "Based on our analysis, we believe Nvidia is designed into the next-generation vPod socket at the expense of Broadcom," said Satya Chillara. "We believe the Nvidia chip adds 3D graphics functionality in addition to all of the existing features (such as H.264) that Broadcom supported with the existing iPod."

While the video gaming iPod is still very much a mystery with very little solid information about the device, this could explain why Apple has reportedly been looking to hire game developers. However, analysts also believe the videogaming iPod won't be released until the next major iPod update. Meaning don't hold your breath.

Recently we posted an article about the possible major delay in the release of Apple's next-gen iPod nano, based on the report made by American Technology Research. Now, another Wall Street analyst seconded that opinion saying the redesigned iPod nano digital music player may indeed face a setback of up to two months from its original September launch.

Tristan Gerra, a Baird analyst, said spot pricing for 8GB NAND flash fell 31 percent since last week due to delays in the launch of Apple's next-generation iPod nano player. The delay is attributed to Apple's decision to switch SoC (system-on-a-chip) suppliers from PortalPlayer to Samsung.

While Sports Illustrated for Kids announced the Wii's launch on November 6, CNN columnist Chris Morris, citing insider buzz, says it could be as available as early as late September. While Nintendo, unlike SI for Kids, has not made any formal launch date announcements for the Wii, it was generally expected to hit retail around the PS3's debut on November 17.

The company could now be manufacturing final retail units of the Wii, according to a June 21st analyst's note from P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research, saying "October is a reasonable timeframe." Early manufacturing will help Nintendo meet consumer demand since new consoles sell out fast. In contrast, Sony has yet to begin final manufacturing of its PS3. Nintendo continues to downplay any suggested dates.

Meanwhile, the pricing for the Wii remains a mystery. Industry analysts place it between $199 or $249, cheaper than both the PS3, and the current Xbox 360 price.

When  Master gamemaker Kojima called the PS3 as the future of gaming he was, of course, referring to its technical power. But the price for having all that muscle could result in production shortage, at least in the early stages says Analyst P.J. McNealy of American Technology Research.

“We've learned the Sony Playstation 3 is not just a game console. It’s a movie platform. It’s also a super-computer. This is now the most complex box that’s ever been built in this industry. It’s going to have a Cell processor, it’s going to have a Blu-ray drive. The number of pieces that are going into this box are even more astounding [than the over 1700 parts used in the Xbox 360]" McNealy says.

The complex manufacturing process required in putting the PS3 together could be a problem. Citing the Xbox 360's manufacturing-related shortage, McNealy thinks Sony will also be limited in term of production.

Sony is confident it will meet its PS3 shipment target of 1 million units per month (6 million units shipped by the end of March 2007) and says it will have two million units ready for its global launch in November. McNealy is not. “Sony, we don’t think, is going to be in assembly for another four to six weeks--end of July, early August." McNealy expects PS3 production to hit its stride sometime in 2007 when "the wild-card becomes, [whether or not] people still want to spend six-hundred bucks on the box."

The highly anticipated debut of the next-gen iPod expected late this year could be a no-show. Instead, the new apple of Apple investors' eyes may surface in the first quarter of 2007.

According to Shaw Wu of American Technology Research, the delay was caused by Apple's switching of chip supplier from PortalPlayer to another chipmaker. Apple engineers also need more time to kick up the power of the video iPod's battery life and increase its screen size. The next-gen iPod nano is expected to have twice as much capacity as the pre-gen (4GB and 8GB).

Despite the production glitches, Wu expects Apple to introduce yet another new high-end iPod model. So far Apple has no comment on the issue.