Sony plays it safe with ‘sold out’ PS4 while Xbox is ‘working hard’ to meet demand

Sony has halted day one pre-orders of PS4 – but only as a precaution, MCV understands.

The firm told retailers last week to stop guaranteeing consoles to consumers for launch day. Yet we understand that Sony expects more stock as we approach the PS4 launch.

And some machines WILL be held back so that stores have something on shelves come launch day at the end of the year.

One retail source told us that Sony doesn’t want consumers who couldn’t buy PS4 to buy Xbox One instead”.

A senior retail expert at one of the UK’s biggest companies told MCV that both PS4 and Xbox One pre-orders are ‘brilliant’. He said: It’s a sign that we are at the start of a huge period for games – one unlike we’ve seen before with two consoles of this scale coming at the same time.”

Sony refused to comment on the sold out reports. A spokesperson told MCV: Sony Computer Entertainment Europe does not comment on production and we have no further information to share at this time on our release strategy for PlayStation 4 which is scheduled for launch this holiday season.”

The PS4 release date and a better indication of stock levels is expected at Gamescom later this month.

Meanwhile, UK retailers expect Microsoft to follow Sony by putting a stop on day-one pre-orders for Xbox One.

But the platform holder told MCV that it’s working hard to meet the strong demand for its new console. And it won’t be halting day-one pre-orders just yet.

Stores told MCV that pre-order numbers for Xbox One have been fantastic” and in-line with PS4. Retailers, including HMV and ShopTo, also expect Microsoft to put a halt on the console’s ‘Day One’ SKU ‘any day now’.

Yet sources close to Microsoft say that the computer giant has planned for a pre-order campaign that lasts longer than just eight weeks”.

Xbox One pre-orders are strong and we are confident with the momentum we’ve seen to date,” said Microsoft’s retail sales and marketing director Jon Grimes. We are currently on track for our most anticipated console launch and are working hard to ensure we are able to meet customer demand.”