Desperately Seeking the PS4? “Be Patient,” Says Sony

If you’re in the market for a PlayStation 4 and you’re having difficulty finding one, Sony has some simple advice: “be patient.”

That’s what Sony Worldwide Studios CEO, Shuhei Yoshida, had to say on his Twitter page.  In response to one user mentioning that, in contrast to the PS4, Microsoft’s Xbox One is readily available at major retailers such as GameStop and Amazon, Yoshida tweeted:

@yosp – Sir, I can go out and buy an XBOX One at a dozen outlets today. But I cannot find a PS4 anywhere. Any advice?

— Phillip Ragatz (@Ragatz) January 3, 2014

@Ragatz be patient

— Shuhei Yoshida (@yosp) January 3, 2014

In December, Sony said we should anticipate “limited” supply of the PS4, although they do expect increased shipments in January and February.  As for worldwide sales, Sony aims to sell 5 million PS4s before the company’s fiscal year ends on March 31, 2014.  In the short-term, Sony hoped to move 3 million units before the end of 2013; we don’t know if that goal was hit.

Availability is critical

One of the reasons the PS3 launch was so abysmal? A ridiculous lack of availability (of course, the prohibitive price and lack of compelling software didn’t help).  This time, Sony did better job of supplying units and prepared over a million consoles for the PS4 launch.  That’s a great start, but in order to keep that momentum, they’ll have to make sure the new console is actually available to purchase.  Hopefully, we will see more machines on store shelves in the next eight weeks.