Sony said yesterday it had sold 980,000 of its PlayStation2 video game consoles since the Saturday launch, nearly matching its sales target of 1m for the first two days.

That was more than 10 times the sales scored by the original PlayStation console in the same period when it was launched five years ago, the company said. The figures included consoles sold over the internet but not yet delivered to customers.

Sony's shipments seemed to have fallen short of demand and it admitted that production was 10 days behind schedule due to a shortage of memory cards.

Of 380,000 units sold online, only 120,000 had been delivered, the company said, adding that deliveries should be completed in two weeks.

Sony said it expected the memory card shortage to be solved by mid-March and for total PlayStation2 shipments to reach 1.4m units by the end of the month. It originally forecast shipments of 1.5m by that time.

It also said it had shipped 1.3m PlayStation2 games and that the console, which can play digital video discs, had boosted DVD sales, with video stores having ordered double to quadruple their usual number of DVDs since Saturday.

Many analysts have said the console, priced at ¥39,800 (£240), takes home entertainment to a new dimension with life-like animation as well as the capacity to play DVDs and surf the net.

The PlayStation and the games that go with it are a rich profit seam for Sony, which already holds 70% share of the world games console market.