Sony: PS4 Sales ‘Way Exceeded Our Expectations’

Sony UK boss Fergal Gara has told Eurogamer that PS4 sales "way exceeded" the company's projections for the console at this time last year.

"If we rewind to January last year, prior to launch, the sales way exceeded our expectations. If you wind forward to last October/November, the sales were exactly my expectations because they were the stock we got. The sales potential exceeded my expectations, and the pre-orders were so huge that we knew we were in with a problem with any likely stock volumes that we could possibly get.

"We knew we were in with that good problem to have, but nonetheless it's a problem. Our job is to satisfy gamers, and we're not going to do it completely as we would like in the short term. It's still selling out every week."

As of the latest details available, 4.2 million PS4s have been sold since the console launch on November 15th last year. Gara revealed that the console was outselling the Xbox One in the UK at a ratio of 1.5:1. Asked how Sony plans to fix the supply problem, Gara said: 

"I don't know exactly – there's no scientific formula for the remaining demand that's carried from launch. There'll be some people waiting for next Christmas, and some people who just want it. My best guess is that it'll have erratic supply until around about April time – it might be a little earlier than that."

The PS Vita Slim was announced for release in the West today, and Gara commented that the handheld still has a future and that Sony's proud of it.

"We're still proud to support it, we still believe it has a role. We know it might not be enormous, but it still can be a healthy business and a very nice PlayStation product."

He admitted that the PS Vita is not expected to sell as well as the PSP but he said Vita is a "superior device." The PSP sold more than 75 million units.