PS4 stock in SA – next batch arrival?

PlayStation

December 20, 2013

Ster Kinekor Entertainment (SKE), distributor of Sony Entertainment products in South Africa, has said that the next batch of PS4 consoles will hopefully be in stores just in time for Christmas. The subsequent batch of PS4 units are then due to arrive in early 2014.

“SKE has experienced incredible sales results for the PlayStation 4 console,” said Mario dos Santos, SKE CEO. “In light of this, the SKE sales team has managed to secure additional units that they are hoping will arrive in store (depending on logistic constraints) this side of Christmas which will be distributed across the retailer network.”

MyGaming asked how many units will be available and if it will cover demand.

“We don’t want to comment on exact allocations but can assure the public that based on our global share, we have managed to secure more than our original allocation because of how fantastic our results have been since launch,” said dos Santos.

Speaking to the level of PS4 demand in SA, dos Santos said “Our original shipment of units were sold out on pre-orders alone – the demand has been overwhelming and the team is working really hard and doing as much as they can to ensure customer demand is satisfied.”

Sony’s PlayStation 4 console was a massive hit when it launched in South Africa on 13 December 2013, with SKE saying that it was sold out within 24 hours of launch.

We spoke to many retailers, including Takealot, BT Games, Kalahari, CNA Online, Makro, AnimeWorx, Look & Listen, and Incredible Connection, who confirmed that the console was either sold out on pre-orders before launch, or flew off the shelves soon after.

Makro for example said they were only able to supply 50% of the customers who walked into their stores on launch day. CNA quickly sold out of the console and games bundles, while they still have a few basic console packages left from the launch batch.

AnimeWorx was cleaned out during their midnight launch, and Incredible Connection sold all their units on pre-order before it even hit the shelves.

The retailers confirmed that demand remains high for the PS4 as they await a new batch of consoles.

In terms of PS4 games, the obvious big-hitters were very popular, with Makro selling out of titles such as Killzone: Shadowfall and FIFA 14.

Battlefield 4, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Assassin’s Creed 4, and Need For Speed Rivals also proved to be fast-sellers.

Knack and Lego Marvel Super Heroes were less popular – although both are quite entertaining games, it seems consumers are first picking up the big name AAA titles.