GameStop: 2.3 million have registered interest in new console supplies [Updated]

Microsoft, meanwhile, predicts shortages amid “unprecedented” demand.

Kyle Orland – Nov 22, 2013 10:25 am | 49

Sony's PlayStation 4. Credit: Andrew Cunningham

[Update: The original version of this story indicated that GameStop had said 2.3 million customers had expressed interest in the PS4 alone, which seemed clear to us from the context of the call transcript. However, a GameStop representative has since clarified to Ars that the number was meant to represent interest in both the PS4 and Xbox One. The below story has been rewritten with this clarification in mind. Ars regrets the error.]

Earlier this week, we noted that while Sony selling a million consoles in 24 hours was impressive, readers shouldn’t read too much into a single day of sales data that might say more about the company’s initial distribution capacity than the system’s long-term demand. Now, retailer GameStop has released numbers giving a much stronger indication of just how many people are still clamoring for next-generation systems just before today’s launch of the Xbox One.

The major chain, which operates over 6,600 locations worldwide (mainly in North America), said in an earnings call yesterday that its initial allocation of PS4 systems is completely spoken for. What’s more, the retailer has logged 2.3 million customers on its “first-to-know” list seeking information on when more supply comes in for the Xbox One and PS4.

While GameStop’s “first-to-know” list may have some overlap with customers that managed to get systems elsewhere, the number is the most concrete sign yet that strong sales for the new consoles will last past the holiday season rather than quickly tapering off after the expected initial sellout (see the Saturn, Dreamcast, original Xbox, GameCube, and even the PS3 for examples of such post-launch tapering). The huge number of interested potential buyers also jibes with other tidbits showing strong post-launch demand for the PS4, such as similar sellout reports from retailer Best Buy and thousands of eBay auctions with significant markups.

For its part, Sony expects to be able to keep stores supplied and ready to fill that demand through the holiday season and to meet worldwide sales targets of 5 million systems by the end of March. “[This is] the first platform launch that I’ve ever been involved with where we’ve had such a good production ramp up and a good sense of supply,” Sony Computer Entertainment CEO Andrew House told Game Informer in a recent interview. “I think through the holiday season that we’ll be in good supply.”

Microsoft, on the other hand, says it’s expecting difficulty in keeping retailers stocked through the end of the year. “There will be difficulty getting stock through until Christmas but we will do everything we can to accelerate that,” Microsoft Xbox VP Phil Harrison told MCV.

Harrison also kept supply expectations low when in an talk with GamesIndutry.biz surrounding today’s Xbox One launch. “I can only apologize in advance to anybody who is let down before Christmas,” he said. “We don’t want to lose a sale, clearly, and we’ll work hard in our operations and our manufacturing supply chain and obviously with our retail partners to make sure we catch up as quickly as we can.”

Harrison was quick to point to “unprecedented” pre-orders for the Xbox One as the main cause of any supply shortages and said the launch numbers for the system will be “significantly bigger than [Xbox] 360.” Of course, we’re going to have to wait a bit for some actual sales numbers before we can really evaluate those statements. All in all, though, it seems likely that we’ll be seeing a lot of fights between angry parents scrambling for that last PS4 or Xbox One in the aisles of electronics stores this holiday season.