GameStop on PS4 demand: ‘Selling out as quickly as we could stock them’

GameStop has acknowledged overwhelming demand for the PlayStation 4 console. Walking into one of its retail stores today, you may find one of Sony's new console on the shelf, but that's not any indication of the type of demand experienced. In a press release announcing the arrival of a new shipment of PS4 consoles, the retailer shed some light on the type of demand it experienced over the holiday season.

“As expected, we experienced tremendous customer demand for the new PS4 console during the initial launch and throughout the holiday season, selling out of the consoles just as quickly as we could stock them,” said Darron Nielsen, Senior Merchant for GameStop. Odds are if you were looking for a PS4 this holiday season, you probably already know this. Even now the PlayStation 4 is hard to come by as Sony has admittedly been having a hard time keeping up with consumer demand.

Since its launch in November over 4.2 million PS4 consoles have been sold worldwide as of December 28th. However, the lack of supply has actually hindered the PS4's sales in the United States where it was outsold by Microsoft's Xbox One for the month of December 2013. As SCEA senior director of corporate communications, Dan Rice, reasoned, "We sold every PS4 available at retail in the U.S. and were out of stock in December due to overwhelming consumer demand."

The supply issues may have to do with Sony biting off more than it can chew. Although the PS4 has yet to release in Japan — which will hinder supply further — it's still available in 53 other countries worldwide. Comparatively, the Xbox One launched in only 13 countries and sold over three million consoles worldwide in 2013.

Would Sony have been better off focusing its PS4 sales in a smaller number of markets?