Sony is selling its PS4 as fast as it can. But the company has experienced supply constraints ever since its launch in November 2013. And don’t expect to find a PS4 on your store shelf anytime soon — Sony told the WSJ that it doesn’t expect to meet demand before this summer.
Yet, the console only recently launched in Japan, its home country. While Sony managed to sell 300,000 consoles in its first week, sales in Japan dropped to less than 30,000 during its second week.
That’s why the company is reporting global sales numbers. So far, Sony has sold 6 million PS4 units. It’s a good start, better than the Xbox One and the Wii U. But it’s still too early to declare victory.
Overall, the console market is shrinking. As our own Natasha Lomas wrote, it will be hard to sell as many PS4s and Xbox Ones as PS3s and Xbox 360s. The last generation fared quite well. The Xbox 360 and PS3 sold around 80 million apiece.
When comparing the last generation console launch with this generation, the PS3 and Xbox 360 sold faster. Part of it can be explained by supply issues. But it’s a recurring issue with console launches.