It's an amazing feat; almost exactly a year after launch, the Nintendo Wii is still hard to find in most areas. The demand will become even greater as we near the holiday season, and games like Super Mario Galaxy will do much to make sure that supplies remain constrained in stores as gamers quickly buy every shipment. There is one company that isn't sad to see the shortages, though. Sony has a lot to celebrate: its $400 40GB system is taking off. The company is reporting sales of 75,000 pieces of hardware for the week of October 29, and it surpassed the 100,000 mark the week after; both figures are well above the typical sales of 30,000 to 40,000. A lower-priced system and a sold-out main competitor seems to be just what Sony needed to jumpstart its sales.

"Obviously, we've taken so much heat over the year on PS3," Sony CEO Howard Stringer told the AP. "Finally, the turning point has been passed."

The $400 system—which lacks the ability to play PlayStation 2 games—features a 40GB hard drive and a high-quality Blu-ray drive for movies. With games like Ratchet and Clank Future: Tools of Destruction and Heavenly Sword already available for the system, and the upcoming release of Uncharted: Drake's Fortune gathering an increasing amount of buzz, the gaming side of the equation has never been stronger for the PS3. The system also boasts an interesting experiment in the oddly compelling videogame-slash-collectible card game Eye of Judgment, an exclusive that's unlike anything else on the competing systems.

While the HDMI-equipped Xbox 360 Premium system is still $50 less expensive than Sony's 40GB option, the Blu-ray drive more than makes up for the small difference in price for some users. With the high-definition format wars still being fought—much to Sony's chagrin—every system Sony is able to sell on the power of its gaming lineup is another Blu-ray player in the home of a consumer who may then begin buying Blu-ray movies. While the Xbox 360 offers an HD DVD drive as an $180 option, the built-in nature of Sony's Blu-ray drive allows developers more space for their games, and it also means that consumers can buy Blu-ray movies well as games. "It puts us vastly ahead of where the other format is going to be in terms of an installed base in people's homes by the end of this holiday season," Andrew House, Sony's chief marketing officer, told the AP.

Sony still has a long way to go to make its gaming division profitable, and we don't know how well the Xbox 360 has been selling in recent days with Microsoft's new $280 "Arcade" system. But any way you slice it, the higher sales are good news. More units in the hands of consumers means better Blu-ray sales and more developer support, both things that could have a cascade effect for Sony's business.

Having the Wii in short supply helps Sony. "It's a little fortuitous that the Wii is running out of hardware," Stringer remarked. Couple a Wii shortage with strong supplies of an affordable Sony system, and Sony could be in position to enjoy a very strong holiday season.