The next-generation of consoles is set to launch this fall. We know PlayStation 4 is coming, and it’s widely assumed Xbox 360’s successor will be announced in the next couple of months, too. What we don’t yet know – and likely won’t until the console is on store shelves – is how many people want one.
But there’s anecdotal evidence suggesting that PlayStation 4 in particular may see strong sales at launch, at least if statistics and quotes given by massive games retailer GameStop is any indication. Games Industry International reports that while GameStop’s revenue is down, things may be looking up in the near future due to the two next-generation consoles.
GameStop’s President Tony Bartel is quoted as saying that there is “strong purchase intent for PS4,” based on the fact that 900,000 GameStop customers have, as the website states, “signed up for early information about the PS4.”
Furthermore, Bartel says that the company “believe[s] demand will far outpace supply within the launch window, although we have been given no official numbers by Sony.”
The website reports that “GameStop’s consumer research shows that some 34 percent of people queried expect to buy a PS4 in the coming year, higher than interest in any other hardware.”
Whether or not PlayStation 4’s momentum in the States can be sustained is another question, however. While there’s relative sales parity worldwide between PS3 and Xbox 360, Xbox 360 has long dominated the American retail market, with PS3 playing second fiddle in the HD console space. It’s likely Xbox 360’s successor will steal at least some of PS4’s thunder – if not a lot of it -- as PS4 has gone uncontested in next-generation mindshare since its official reveal on February 20th.
Colin Moriarty is an IGN PlayStation editor. You can follow him on Twitter and IGN and learn just how sad the life of a New York Islanders and New York Jets fan can be.
Source : ign[dot]com
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