PS4 UK stock withheld to meet launch demand - report

Sony is said to be holding back PS4 stock following a halt on pre-orders to meet launch day demand, a new report has suggested.

Yesterday we reported that Sony has told European retailers to stop taking PS4 pre-orders, which sparked concerns over stock levels. It now seems that this measure is to pre-empt launch day shortages and to ensure Sony still has consoles left on shelves on day-one.

MCV reports that Sony has done this to make sure there are still consoles available in-store at launch. The site has quoted one unnamed source as saying Sony, “doesn’t want consumers who couldn’t buy PS4 to buy Xbox One instead”.

One senior retail exec is said to have told the site that PS4 orders are going strong, and added, “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."

When asked for comment on the matter, a Sony spokesperson replied, "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 site added that some retails sources have suggested that Microsoft could halt Xbox One pre-orders in a similar fashion soon, and that pre-orders for the console are 'in-line' with PS4. We're yet to see actual stats on the volume of UK pre-orders for either side however.

What do you make of the above?