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[Piggus]

Walked into Best Buy about an hour after it opened and picked up a PS4 no problem.
Funny thing is, I was planning on buying an Xbone today but the Best Buy in my town has been out of stock for weeks for some reason. It's the only one within a hundred miles that doesn't have them.
So I go to Gamestop, the only other retailer in the area that carries Xbox Ones, and was waiting in line when I have a flashback to when this exact store botched my preorder for the Metal Gear Solid 3 Subsistence Special Edition like eight years ago. The memory is enough for me walk out of the store, not wanting to give them my business, and I call Best Buy. They guy on the phone says they still don't have Xbones but they have PS4s, which I ended getting instead.
tl;dr My hatred for Gamestop led me to get a PS4 rather than an Xbox One.

Well you also have an extra 100 bucks and a more powerful console so you didn't exactly get a bad deal.

 

[SlipperyMoose]

I wish I shared you guy's optimism about the install base.

The people lining up outside of Best Buy for PS4s really isn't all that amazing. Yes the console has a high demand but Sony has seriously struggled with providing any shipments of the PS4 since the launch. I'm not talking about as soon as we get PS4s they sell out, we just haven't been getting PS4s at all.

I work at Best Buy and did the release today and there were a handful of people waiting outside but we did not sell out instantly or within the hour, it was well into the day that we finally sold the last one and we only got around ~20.

 

[ShineALight]

My local Best Buy has them, but I heard from a third-party vendor that works in the store that the manager refused to let the inventory be listed in the computer so it'd show up as "out of stock" online, apparently to spite re-sellers. People that walk in and ask are able to purchase one, though.

 

[tazz3]

I saw this in to days ads.

 

[Amir0x]

The people lining up outside of Best Buy for PS4s really isn't all that amazing. Yes the console has a high demand but Sony has seriously struggled with providing any shipments of the PS4 since the launch. I'm not talking about as soon as we get PS4s they sell out, we just haven't been getting PS4s at all.

But this is false. We can now officially quantify that Sony and Microsoft both have produced some of the largest launch month shipments in console gaming history, if not the largest. It also had the largest launch month in history in North America, sold over 850,000 in December with it selling out in seconds with zero units left on shelves and is the fastest console ever to reach 4 million units worldwide.

They simply cannot meet demand because it's crazy. Genuinely unprecedented for this level of quick upsurge.

 

[SlipperyMoose]

But this is false. We can now officially quantify that Sony and Microsoft both have produced some of the largest launch month shipments in console gaming history, if not the largest. It also had the largest launch month in history in North America, sold over 850,000 in December with it selling out in seconds with zero units left on shelves and is the fastest console ever to reach 4 million units worldwide.

They simply cannot meet demand because it's crazy. Genuinely unprecedented for this level of quick upsurge.

Oh look I by no means am downplaying the success of the PS4 or the demand. I'm just saying that it really isn't all the surprising that people are waiting for them outside months after launch because they haven't been on store floors. Most of the time I have personally seen PS4 inventory open up or sell is online. That is just my personal experience though.

 

[slapnuts]

But this is false. We can now officially quantify that Sony and Microsoft both have produced some of the largest launch month shipments in console gaming history, if not the largest. It also had the largest launch month in history in North America, sold over 850,000 in December with it selling out in seconds with zero units left on shelves and is the fastest console ever to reach 4 million units worldwide.

They simply cannot meet demand because it's crazy. Genuinely unprecedented for this level of quick upsurge.

Not only that...but Sony is selling PS4's like hotcakes in a lot more countries. And just think....Japan is still a month away for its PS4 debut.

I never really understood the argument of Sony not supplying enough...they are being very AGGRESSIVE with their push of PS4 in so many countries that its MARVELING to see them still match Microsoft in N.America 1 for 1 as far as supplying consoles (or close to it)...and yet Sony is selling their console in more countries to boot!!

 

[Amir0x]

Oh look I by no means am downplaying the success of the PS4 or the demand. I'm just saying that it really isn't all the surprising that people are waiting for them outside months after launch because they haven't been on store floors. Most of the time I have personally seen PS4 inventory open up or sell is online. That is just my personal experience though.

I'm not suggesting you were, I'm simply saying it is pretty amazing what's happening because Sony is producing an unprecedented number of consoles per month and shipping an unprecedented amount for launch months (as did Microsoft) and still cannot keep up to that demand. Not seeing them on store floors is exactly because of that insane demand, not because Sony isn't shipping to stores at a crazy level.

But that's also why I think there's no way this will last as long as it did with Wii. PS4 shipments dwarf what Nintendo was producing with Wii when the craze was going on. There's no way Sony is going to be able to hold onto that level of demand with the number of units they're producing imo

 

[Dragonborn]

The people lining up outside of Best Buy for PS4s really isn't all that amazing. Yes the console has a high demand but Sony has seriously struggled with providing any shipments of the PS4 since the launch. I'm not talking about as soon as we get PS4s they sell out, we just haven't been getting PS4s at all.

I work at Best Buy and did the release today and there were a handful of people waiting outside but we did not sell out instantly or within the hour, it was well into the day that we finally sold the last one and we only got around ~20.

PS4 sold almost as much as the X1 in NA this Dec. it very clearly has the demand since even though it sold a lot, they are almost never seen on shelves which means they sell out as soon as they arrive unlike X1s which can be found in abundance. I don't see any of this happening with the X1

That fact pretty much negates your point

 

[benny_a]

Not only that...but Sony is selling PS4's like hotcakes in a lot more countries. And just think....Japan is still a month away for its PS4 debut.

I never really understood the argument of Sony not supplying enough...they are being very AGGRESSIVE with their push of PS4 in so many countries that its MARVELING to see them still match Microsoft in N.America 1 for 1 as far as supplying consoles...and yet Sony is selling their console in more countries to boot!!

Launching in many countries is obviously a logistical complexity that is very impressive, but there are a lot of countries that only sell a fraction of what you sell in the U.S, so one should be careful not to extrapolate from the markets we do know about like the U.S. and the UK.

 

[oggob]

The people lining up outside of Best Buy for PS4s really isn't all that amazing. Yes the console has a high demand but Sony has seriously struggled with providing any shipments of the PS4 since the launch. I'm not talking about as soon as we get PS4s they sell out, we just haven't been getting PS4s at all.

I work at Best Buy and did the release today and there were a handful of people waiting outside but we did not sell out instantly or within the hour, it was well into the day that we finally sold the last one and we only got around ~20.

They might have struggled, but they have struggled to supply the US with the most consoles sold within the first 2 months of launch? Likely most being sold via online channels.

You sold out of your allotment within the day, what if the same occurs for the many other stores around the country, the console could be sold out again for another length of time. Incidentally, the PS4's sold out, how many X1's sold in the same timeframe?

 

[SlipperyMoose]

PS4 sold almost as much as the X1 in NA this Dec. it very clearly has the demand since even though it sold a lot, they are almost never seen on shelves which means they sell out as soon as they arrive unlike X1s which can be found in abundance. I don't see any of this happening with the X1

That fact pretty much negates your point

Not really, I'm talking about Best Buy retail, not over all sales of PS4. Yes the PS4 sold a lot, yes the demand is high, Best Buy has gotten little shipments of the PS4 since it released, not surprising there is people waiting outside.

Not knocking the PS4 demand, just worded by statement poorly.

 

[slapnuts]

Launching in many countries is obviously a logistical complexity that is very impressive, but there are a lot of countries that only sell a fraction of what you sell in the U.S, so one should be careful not to extrapolate from the markets we do know about like the U.S. and the UK.

I guess my point is...in all of the extra countries Sony is selling the PS4...the demand by the consumers in those countries are just as high....Those recent stats of PS4 sales in Spain, Germany,etc were very impressive to most of us here at Gaf.

And the fact that Japan has not had its launch yet is also mind boggling.

 

[Dragonborn]

Launching in many countries is obviously a logistical complexity that is very impressive, but there are a lot of countries that only sell a fraction of what you sell in the U.S, so one should be careful not to extrapolate from the markets we do know about like the U.S. and the UK.

Sure but some individual countries don't sell as much but combines? Europe is Sony's most important market and it's good to see they're not ignoring the world just to focus on two countries (although really, mostly just 1).

Not really, I'm talking about Best Buy retail, not over all sales of PS4. Yes the PS4 sold a lot, yes the demand is high, Best Buy has gotten little shipments of the PS4 since it released, not surprising there is people waiting outside.

Not knocking the PS4 demand, just worded by statement poorly.

Ah, I see. I suppose pretty much every retailer is getting few consoles which is the result of high demand. I may be wrong on this but wasn't it said some time ago that Gamestop was getting the biggest shipments?

 

[TheRealTalker]

Lol again with the #thirstisreal
Lol when someone gets one they should post #thirstisquenched to make it go full circle

 

[Juice]

FYI regarding the title change, searching "#thirstisreal" on twitter was underwhelming.

 

[benny_a]

Sure but some individual countries don't sell as much but combines? Europe is Sony's most important market and it's good to see they're not ignoring the world just to focus on two countries (although really, mostly just 1).

Oh yes, I agree that it's good for the fans in those countries as I'm in Europe as well. I'm just saying that I think it's maybe short-sighted but very valid to only focus on the U.S., Brazil and the U.K.

 

[krypt0nian]

If this #THIRST continues, I can imagine the spindoctors will be hard pressed to wrangle this message. Major Nelson may need brownies.

 

[Boombloxer]

I'm not suggesting you were, I'm simply saying it is pretty amazing what's happening because Sony is producing an unprecedented number of consoles per month and shipping an unprecedented amount for launch months (as did Microsoft) and still cannot keep up to that demand. Not seeing them on store floors is exactly because of that insane demand, not because Sony isn't shipping to stores at a crazy level.

But that's also why I think there's no way this will last as long as it did with Wii. PS4 shipments dwarf what Nintendo was producing with Wii when the craze was going on. There's no way Sony is going to be able to hold onto that level of demand with the number of units they're producing imo

I think it would be unlikely, but you never know.

I don't think anyone would complain if it sold 10 - 15M for the year. Put Xbone around 8-12M and that's a great start for the two next-gen consoles.

...oh, but consoles are dead. nm,

 

[maquiladora]

Don't drink too much into it.

 

[Dragonborn]

Oh yes, I agree that it's good for the fans in those countries as I'm in Europe as well. I'm just saying that I think it's maybe short-sighted but very valid to only focus on the U.S., Brazil and the U.K.

For MS I think it's the perfect plan. They'll sell some units in other "Tier 2" countries but the fact is, Xbox just isn't as big WW. The only reason the 360 even kept up was it's massive NA lead.

Had the PS360 been equal in NA, MS would have trailed by a good 15 million+ units. This gen I think that's exactly what's going to happen. PS4 will remain ahead in NA (though largely equal to the X1) but the WW gap will be bigger than last gen. MS will loose a good portion of their NA cash cow.

 

[friskykillface]

In what alternate universe is Thief a "heavy hitter"?

my thoughts exactly lol

for me its nothing until infamous in march, same with xbox one and titanfall

good to see PS4 getting in stores though, still waiting to see if infamous gets a bundle before picking up a PS4

 

[ascii42]

I'm not suggesting you were, I'm simply saying it is pretty amazing what's happening because Sony is producing an unprecedented number of consoles per month and shipping an unprecedented amount for launch months (as did Microsoft) and still cannot keep up to that demand. Not seeing them on store floors is exactly because of that insane demand, not because Sony isn't shipping to stores at a crazy level.

But that's also why I think there's no way this will last as long as it did with Wii. PS4 shipments dwarf what Nintendo was producing with Wii when the craze was going on. There's no way Sony is going to be able to hold onto that level of demand with the number of units they're producing imo

Yeah. It'll be interesting to see how things play out. These are the Wii's 2007 monthly sales in the US. It had sold a little over 1 million in 2006:

January 436,000
February 335,000
March 259,000
April 360,000
May 338,000
June 381,800
July 425,000
August 403,600
September 501,000
October 519,000
November 981,000
December 1,350,000

So PS4's entering the year with a 1 million unit lead, with a $150 higher price point. It'll be interesting to see when demand levels off.

 

[NTIETS13A_Superiority]

no matter what the scenario, investing money into ones PC is always the right answer.

F* that. I got my pc (monitor kb/m speakers) for free and bought 6670 for 40€.... Investing more would be foolish. (imo)la. Kakkapytty. Got my ps3 back for free too. I am just too awesome.

 

[Abdiel]

no matter what the scenario, investing money into ones PC is always the right answer.

I'm not really on board with that particular option. I don't game on my PC. I have a laptop that has a decent graphics card and processor set, but I just don't like gaming on my computer, and I don't have the room or reason to get a desktop setup.

I've got my PS3-4 and my Vita, and they handle my gaming needs without any issue. I know I could get better performance out of a PC for games, but I play my games from my bed, with my laptop next to me and my 42" TV across from me.

(That's not to say I think PC gaming is somehow bad or a waste... It's just never been practical for me, and my dedicated gaming stuff works really, really well for my purposes)

 

[LowEndTorque]

BLOWNY needs to MAKE MORE PS4 since obviously they are sitting around doing nothing

probably making more shitty games like BLOWNY All Fails Battle Royfail by SuperNot since that's what BLOWNY does

WHY IS THERE A SOFTWARE DROWT BLOWNY

It has been TWO MONTHS!!!! And it is January!!!! Why are you not RELEASING GAMES BLOWNY

What can I play on this shitty PS4 I shouldn't have bought ANYWAY Blowny!!!!

I'M GOING TO GO RAGE ON A MESSAGEBOARD

I’m with you man. The Phailstation Bore has no games. All those stupid Phony jabronies lining up to for what? Garbage like assKrack and Lolzone.

 

[Y2Kev]

assKrack, rofl

 

[Skilletor]

I'm not really on board with that particular option. I don't game on my PC. I have a laptop that has a decent graphics card and processor set, but I just don't like gaming on my computer, and I don't have the room or reason to get a desktop setup.

I've got my PS3-4 and my Vita, and they handle my gaming needs without any issue. I know I could get better performance out of a PC for games, but I play my games from my bed, with my laptop next to me and my 42" TV across from me.

(That's not to say I think PC gaming is somehow bad or a waste... It's just never been practical for me, and my dedicated gaming stuff works really, really well for my purposes)

Always odd to me that people seem to neglect the fact that you can hook your laptop and/or desktop up to your television and use wired or wireless console controllers for every game released that you would also play on a console.

 

[Amir0x]

I'm not really on board with that particular option. I don't game on my PC. I have a laptop that has a decent graphics card and processor set, but I just don't like gaming on my computer, and I don't have the room or reason to get a desktop setup.

I've got my PS3-4 and my Vita, and they handle my gaming needs without any issue. I know I could get better performance out of a PC for games, but I play my games from my bed, with my laptop next to me and my 42" TV across from me.

(That's not to say I think PC gaming is somehow bad or a waste... It's just never been practical for me, and my dedicated gaming stuff works really, really well for my purposes)

Sucks it's not practical for you, but as you admit, it'd be best for gaming needs if it were practical. Plus if you know what you're doing, you can game with your PC on your 42" TV

 

[Unknown Soldier]

There's actual lines? Wow. The last time I heard stuff like this going on is when the 360 launched but it's crazy how everything flipped.

Did you forget about the Wii? You couldn't find one for a year after it launched.

 

[Amon37]

store by me sold one in the hour it took for me to get there and the guy said there were about 5-6 people in line before the store was open that morning.

 

[ascii42]

Always odd to me that people seem to neglect the fact that you can hook your laptop and/or desktop up to your television and use wired or wireless console controllers for every game released that you would also play on a console.

While true, that's not always practical for everyone.

 

[gtj1092]

Yeah. It'll be interesting to see how things play out. These are the Wii's 2007 monthly sales in the US. It had sold a little over 1 million in 2006:

January 436,000
February 335,000
March 259,000
April 360,000
May 338,000
June 381,800
July 425,000
August 403,600
September 501,000
October 519,000
November 981,000
December 1,350,000

So PS4's entering the year with a 1 million unit lead, with a $150 higher price point. It'll be interesting to see when demand levels off.

Looking at those numbers no wonder people had to line up Nintendo wasn't supplying any. So yeah maybe ps4 won't be sold out for a year like Wii but it will beat the yearly sales shown here barring some catastrophe I think.

 

[thatsafakewebsitebro]

You disagree or think I'm exaggerating? Why?

I agree with you 100%. I love how elegantly you put it. Made me chuckle.

 

[Outtrigger888]

I bet ea is kicking themselves for selling titanfall to Microsoft. Looks like the ps4 will have close to 7 million hungry users when the game launches. So much money plus future dlc money to be had.

 

[Tsundere]

I bet ea is kicking themselves for selling titanfall to Microsoft. Looks like the ps4 will have close to 7 million hungry users when the game launches. So much money plus future dlc money to be had.

Wonder if the contract they moneyhatted has a clause for providing a % based off PS4 hardware numbers.

 

[DangerMouse]

Insane. So glad I acquired mine at launch.

Same here, this is crazy (in a good way).

 

[maquiladora]

Wonder if the contract they moneyhatted has a clause for providing a % based off PS4 hardware numbers.

I'd imagine it would have been an estimated number agreed on at the time.

 

[Neuromancer]

And the amazing thing is, there's nothing to play on it! Like not one actually good game. Just imagine what would happen if Sony actually supported their hardware with games? Fortunately for MS that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Eventually the 4.2 million Playstation 4 owners are going to get tired of the situation, trade that shit in for an Xbox One, and then we'll really see those NPD's fly!

 

[Pound_lb003]

I bet ea is kicking themselves for selling titanfall to Microsoft. Looks like the ps4 will have close to 7 million hungry users when the game launches. So much money plus future dlc money to be had.

Wow... 7 million by mid March? That's optimistic, unfortunately it's not Christmas this month.

Anyway, EA will have money towards their new IP, probably to the tune of your high estimates. So I'm sure they're chuffed to bits.

 

[Night Angel]

And the amazing thing is, there's nothing to play on it! Like not one actually good game. Just imagine what would happen if Sony actually supported their hardware with games? Fortunately for MS that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Eventually the 4.2 million Playstation 4 owners are going to get tired of the situation, trade that shit in for an Xbox One, and then we'll really see those NPD's fly!

I know you're joking, but man, this hurt to read.

 

[Abdiel]

Always odd to me that people seem to neglect the fact that you can hook your laptop and/or desktop up to your television and use wired or wireless console controllers for every game released that you would also play on a console.

It's not that I neglect that fact. I'm well aware I could, but I'd be stretching an HDMI cord across my entire room to do that, which would just be a bit excessive, for something that I don't really have a reason to do.

I play my indie games on my Vita, which also happens to be my current ridiculous JRPG/SRPG system, and that's the most convenient thing for me, my PS3-4 both see play time. I primarily do my writing/chat/general browsing on my laptop, and while I could use the HDMI to multi-monitor, so to speak, it'd still be taxing on my computer to do that, rather than having everything neatly specific, which works for me. *Especially* since I don't like desktops, I don't worry about upgrades. It works perfect for what I need it to.

 

[Byakuya769]

I agree with you 100%. I love how elegantly you put it. Made me chuckle.

Ha, ah ok. My bad.

 

[Mrbob]

I bet ea is kicking themselves for selling titanfall to Microsoft. Looks like the ps4 will have close to 7 million hungry users when the game launches. So much money plus future dlc money to be had.

EA might be a bit sad, but they still got paid. Respawn are the ones who are crying right now. Going to hurt new franchise IP adoption by not being on the top selling next gen platform.

 

[slapnuts]

And the amazing thing is, there's nothing to play on it! Like not one actually good game. Just imagine what would happen if Sony actually supported their hardware with games? Fortunately for MS that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Eventually the 4.2 million Playstation 4 owners are going to get tired of the situation, trade that shit in for an Xbox One, and then we'll really see those NPD's fly!

That's never gonna happen lol

 

[benny_a]

And the amazing thing is, there's nothing to play on it! Like not one actually good game. Just imagine what would happen if Sony actually supported their hardware with games? Fortunately for MS that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Eventually the 4.2 million Playstation 4 owners are going to get tired of the situation, trade that shit in for an Xbox One, and then we'll really see those NPD's fly!

 

[Skilletor]

It's not that I neglect that fact. I'm well aware I could, but I'd be stretching an HDMI cord across my entire room to do that, which would just be a bit excessive, for something that I don't really have a reason to do.

I play my indie games on my Vita, which also happens to be my current ridiculous JRPG/SRPG system, and that's the most convenient thing for me, my PS3-4 both see play time. I primarily do my writing/chat/general browsing on my laptop, and while I could use the HDMI to multi-monitor, so to speak, it'd still be taxing on my computer to do that, rather than having everything neatly specific, which works for me. *Especially* since I don't like desktops, I don't worry about upgrades. It works perfect for what I need it to.

That's cool. Do what you do. I'm just sick of seeing what is pretty much the equivalent of BIG COMFY COUCH as a negative for PCs.

 

[filler]

Waiting until it drops to $200

 

[GobFather]

Checked with the local best buy and they told me that ALL of Bay Area (San Francisco, Oakland, San Jose and etc..) all sold out. (Over 30 bestbuy store) The closest is in Salinas ,CA. Which is 2 hours drive from San Francisco and surprisingly it has 15 units if anyone is interested. Good luck!

 

[pharmboy044]

And the amazing thing is, there's nothing to play on it! Like not one actually good game. Just imagine what would happen if Sony actually supported their hardware with games? Fortunately for MS that doesn't seem to be happening any time soon.

Eventually the 4.2 million Playstation 4 owners are going to get tired of the situation, trade that shit in for an Xbox One, and then we'll really see those NPD's fly!

Pack it up. The PS4 haz no gamez. Long live the XBOne.