Did Sony Underestimate PS4 Demand?

At first, it appeared that Sony was all sorts of ready to pump out millions of PlayStation 4 systems for the holiday season.

But it seems like due to overwhelming popularity, retailers are rapidly running out of pre-orders. Amazon is waiting to be resupplied and unless you've nabbed a "launch edition" PS4, they can't guarantee you'll see your order on release day. GameStop.com is still taking pre-orders but their brick-and-mortar locations only have a set number, and the stores around me are already getting close to the limit. Many sources are telling you to pre-order ASAP .

Maybe Sony didn't underestimate their machine; maybe they just didn't count on Microsoft essentially committing suicide. They shot themselves in the foot, the leg, the arm, the chest…it was a self-inflicted massacre, really. I doubt Sony saw that coming; I doubt anyone saw that coming. As a result, everyone is all pumped for the PS4 while the Xbox One has become a punch line. I mean, THIS is just getting pathetic . At this point, it's difficult to conceive of a Microsoft comeback, although it'll probably happen in some form. There are still plenty of sheep out there.

This is all fine and dandy but as I've said on many occasions, availability is critical for Sony. Every single new PlayStation launch has been plagued with a terrible lack of units; most times, consumers couldn't find one for months after the initial release. Regardless of how great people think it is, sales numbers are still gonna suck if stores don't have any to sell . It's also difficult to get people really excited about something they can't possibly buy anywhere. The "oh you can't have it so now you want it even more" philosophy only goes so far. Eventually, frustration just sets in.

So, here's hoping Sony can effectively supply all retailers with plenty of systems. Maybe they can ramp up production now that they've seen increased demand. Let's hope.