While I was out finishing up my Christmas shopping, I made sure to keep an on out for how easy it was to find the Next Generation gaming consoles from Microsoft and Sony. During my evening which spanned three malls, two Target’s, and a Best Buy amongst my stops, I was honestly surprised by what I found.
There were plenty of Xbox One units available, but I could not find a Playstation 4 anywhere in the Phoenix marketplace. Our staffers at the Seattle office as well as our regional staffers in So Cal, N.Y., Vegas, Florida and other regions also confirmed the same thing to us.
I saw the Xbox One at Gamestop, two Target’s, Best Buy, and other outlets without much effort. Signs in the window and display cases eagerly touted that the Xbox One was in stock, and I have also seen numerous ads for it on local sales sites where they are selling at or below cost and touting the savings of sales tax by purchasing through them.
Not once did I see a PS 4 anywhere and a recent article stated that as many as two million people are believed to be waiting for the unit in North America alone.
So does this indicate that there is less demand for the Xbox One system than the PS 4 or has Microsoft like Nintendo the previous year done a better job at ensuring a steady supply of consoles for eager Holiday shoppers?
BuyVia.com stated that consumer trending and demand online is currently at 3.3-1 in favor of the Playstation 4 and as such they are citing high demand for the lack of readily available Playstation 4 units. I spoke with several people at Tempe area Best Buy yesterday and was surprised by the results. The store is located near A.S.U. and as such, has a steady steam of college students as regular customers. Microsoft had a video display going with Xbox One units on hand. Sony had no Playstation 4 units on hand but had a demo unit which allowed shoppers to play demos of Knack, FIFA 14, Contrast and other titles.
I saw several people pass on buying the Xbox One and instead told the retailers that that would be waiting to purchase the PS 4. This played out again and again during my 70 minutes at the store while I was waiting for my wife to join me.
While I know this is just one example, I did find it interesting to see how in this case, demand for the Xbox one is seeming to be less than the current supply and is the opposite for the Playstation 4.
