PlayStation 4 Facing "Sell-Out Situation" in Europe

[Andy Chalk]

PlayStation 4 Facing "Sell-Out Situation" in Europe

Sony says preorders for the PlayStation 4 exceed those of any previous PlayStation console.

European retailers warned earlier this month that PlayStation 4 preorders placed after August 6 couldn't be guaranteed [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/126641-European-PS4-Pre-Orders-Not-Guaranteed-At-Launch] for launch day. U.K.-based Shopto said Sony had put the word out to all European retailers that inventory couldn't be guaranteed, and that late preorders would be reliant on cancellations for launch day fulfillment and would otherwise have to wait.

The reason, according to Sony U.K. Managing Director Fergal Gara, is simply that preorders are way beyond anything Sony has seen before. "The problem with pre-orders, which is a good problem to have, is that they're very, very high. Higher than we've ever seen in 20 years in this business," he told Official PlayStation Magazine. "As an ex-retailer myself I understand this at least as well as anyone else: We need to help retailers manage the expectations of their customers and not let them down."

Thus, Sony's recommendation to retailers that preorders made after August 5 not be guaranteed for launch day. "We are going to be looking at a sell-out situation and chasing demand, it's a problem, it's kind of a good problem to have, but it is a problem and we're trying to manage that as responsibly as we possibly can," Gara said.

Final allocation numbers haven't yet been locked down, so there's still a chance that Sony will be able to fill some, or perhaps even all, preorders made after the cutoff. Cynics might suggest that there's also a chance Sony may be overstating the shortage just a wee little bit to drive the numbers up. Not that I'm a cynical sort myself, of course, but you never know.

Source: Official PlayStation Magazine [http://www.officialplaystationmagazine.co.uk/2013/08/22/sony-on-ps4-pre-order-shortage-we-are-looking-at-a-sell-out-situation-which-is-a-good-problem-to-have/#null]


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[Josh123914]

So is this one of those intentional things where they intentionally release less to the public to drive up demand, or are so many people choosing the PS4 over the xbone that this is a genuine issue?

If so, LOL. Good luck finding one in 2014 a la the Wii's launch.
If not, well this did happen during the WiiU's, 3DS' and Vita's launch, *shrug*

 

[james.sponge]

Seriously, Don Mattrick will go down in history as a person that killed new xbox before it was even released

As for Sony, good for them. European markets will be dominated by ps4.

 

[Doom972]

More pre-orders than the PS2? They should at least send Microsoft a fruit basket or something for their service.

 

[luvd1]

Hmmm. Got the email from Game about this yesterday, warning me that they might not have enough ps4's in to cover everyone's pre-orders. Since I was there with my order on the day after microsoft announced the 180... I mean Xbone.... I mean xbox one. I feel confident.

 

[TiberiusEsuriens]

Seriously, Don Mattrick will go down in history as a person that killed new xbox before it was even released

As for Sony, good for them. European markets will be dominated by ps4.

Haha, oh Don. I feel bad for Microsoft. Mattrick was preparing for his move to Zynga months in advance, so when the XOne reveal happened he didn't even care what he said, as he already knew he was leaving that month.

 

[The White Hunter]

More pre-orders than the PS2? They should at least send Microsoft a fruit basket or something for their service.

To be fair the market is significantly larger now than it was back then.

Either way, good for them, I'm not wasting my time pre-ordering something that won't be available and shall instead be building my custom rig tomorrow.

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

I have to wonder why everyone is pre-ordering these things. It's not like you get anything special for opening your console on launch day, except the fun of purchasing launch titles at full price and worrying about all the bugs that haven't been discovered yet. I'm pretty sure I can still take the name Daaaah Whoosh a few months after launch, so I'm going to wait until all this fuss blows over.

 

[lancar]

The xbox only launching in 13 countries probably also has something to do with it. There's likely a lot of gamers who were on the fence on which to choose, and considering there's only one to choose from now it just made it easier for them.

Maybe when Microsoft finds their lost brains again, the race might be back on, but for now... it seems a bit rigged in sony's favor.

 

[Erttheking]

Well, it's been said before and I'll say it again.
<youtube=k6hVxm8l5HQ>

Congrats Sony, you took a massive gamble and it payed off royally. I'm not going to be a day one buyer with me recently draining my bank account for personal expenses, but I'll be sure to try and grab a PS4 around Christmas.

 

[Vyress]

So is this one of those intentional things where they intentionally release less to the public to drive up demand, or are so many people choosing the PS4 over the xbone that this is a genuine issue?

If so, LOL. Good luck finding one in 2014 a la the Wii's launch.
If not, well this did happen during the WiiU's, 3DS' and Vita's launch, *shrug*

Let's take a look: aside from the UK, Sony consoles have always been favored here in Europe. Like how it overtook the 360 in sales here during 2008 already. I don't think the story of not being able to keep up with the pre-orders is a fabrication. It is likely true that they did not expect THAT high of a demand. And why would they? After the lukewarm start of the PS3 and the even less impressive start of the Vita, Sony must have been a) more careful with their prognosis on sales figures and b) not used to having a strong product launch anymore.

Also, it's the first time that their console is not the most expensive one at launch. Add to that the fact of how bad Microsoft was doing in developing and advertising their system resulting in all the 180s from them lately...
Yea, Sony's problem of supplying the retailers with enough PS4s is probably true. ^^

 

[Kungfu_Teddybear]

Seriously, Sony should send a thank you letter to Don Mattrick for this.

 

[1337mokro]

Meanwhile at Sony HQ:

"THE COCAINE MUST FLOW!"

The Sony PS4 launch party was already in full swing and would last until release day. It cost the lives of 256 executives in different branches who collapsed from overdose and exhaustion after partying for several weeks on end without break.

 

[ZZoMBiE13]

Great. Now the eBay scabs who buy up and sell at super inflated prices will be going nuts. Anyone wanna take bets on how outrageous the prices will get by Christmas?

 

[klaynexas3]

No surprise. The gaming market is bigger now, and pre-order culture has grown to the point that most early adopters tend to get in at launch day.

The issue isn't how well the console sells at launch. The issue is how well Sony maintains the momentum after launch. The Wii U had a huge number of pre-orders and outsold the PS3 and 360 at launch, but Nintendo fucked up the momentum. I hope Sony isn't so high on their own success right now that they end up making the same mistake. But then, game droughts have always been a big part of console launches which everyone seem to forget about, so who knows how things will go.

To be fair, Sony is saying they should have at least 20 first party games out within the first year, and they have 30 currently in development. Add in the fact that they have better third party support and the momentum should stay pretty strong. Of course the games might be crap, but only time will tell.

 

[Quellist]

Man, am i ever glad that i put my pre-order in on Amazon the day it became possible to do so. Got a nice little email telling it it should arrive November 29th too. I never imagined it was going to be this oversold but looking at the Xbone i really shouldnt have been surprised.

Captcha: Pleased as Punch...Why yes i am

 

[Griffolion]

More pre-orders than the PS2? They should at least send Microsoft a fruit basket or something for their service.

At the very least, a "thank you" card.

OT:

It's a nice situation to be in, I guess. But Sony has to realise that many of those pre orders will be from Xbox refugees very sensitive to issues like this, and thus more likely to to cancel and go back to their beloved MS. So Sony best get as many out as possible as to not give these people a reason to cancel.

 

[greenice]

Actually they announced during the GamesCom conference that the preorders surpassed one million, so yeah that is quite a lot.Anyway good for Sony I can honestly say that I at the very least I think they deserve it as they made a lot of good decisions lately.