Sony has issued a statement to set shareholders at ease, after a their share price dropped 3.6 percent. the dropped for a second time. The initial drop followed a report by Merrill Lynch & Co. report that claimed the PlayStation 3 video game console may be delayed. the report also claimed that the PS3 will cost $900 per-console to manufacture. Sony denied the delay report, but left the $900 tag open for speculation.

The fall affected the entire Tokyo stock market, with the Nikkei index dropping 1.75 percent to 15,437.93 yen ($130.57).

It predicted the launch of the PlayStation 3 console could be delayed by 6 to 12 months from its current spring 2006 window, resulting in an autumn launch in Japan and a late 2006 or early 2007 launch in the US reports Gamespot

"We wrote last November that Sony’s design choices for the PS3 had resulted in an expensive and difficult-to-manufacture product," read the report, "and we think that we’re seeing the consequences of those choices play out now. In particular, we think the problem points are the Sony Cell processor and the Blu-ray drive." Merrill Lynch also cited heat-generation issues with PS3 hardware and the far-from-finished state of most games for the platform as factors.

"We're aiming for spring, but we haven't announced specific regions," a Sony Computer Entertainment America spokeswoman told USAtoday. "We're waiting for [final PS3 specifications] until the last possible minute, but the launch could be pushed back if they're not decided soon."