Sony will be launching the PS4 console worldwide before the end of 2013, according to videogame retailer GameStop.
Some had suggested that Sony would only release its next-generation console for Japanese and US markets in line with its “holiday 2013” PS4 release date, but Michael Hogan, Executive Vice President of Strategy Business and Brand Development at GameStop has confirmed that the PS4 will be launching globally.
“We know that Sony will introduce the PlayStation 4 globally in 2013, but we are still waiting to see what Microsoft’s final plans are,” said Hogan. “We have scenarios with one console introduction, as well as with two. Even a single launch in 2013 will drive double-digit console growth in 2014; and two launches would likely drive the console category north of 20 per cent growth.”
GameStop owns 6700 retail stores across Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Canada and the US, but not in Japan, so should be in the know as to when the PS4 will be reaching the majority of its stores.
Several PS4 titles have already been unveiled with a pre-Christmas 2013 release date, including Battlefield 4, Grand Theft Auto 5 and Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag, so it would seem a shame to force gamers to wait until early 2014 to get access to the games on the next-generation consoles.
There is already strong consumer interest in the PS4, which was unveiled at a dedicated event in February with an eight-core x86-64 AMD Jaguar CPU with 8GB of GDDR5 RAM and a GPU capable of reaching 1.84 teraFLOPS. GameStop’s internal consumer research showed that 34 per cent of customers expected to get their own PS4 within the next year, with nearly 900,000 gamers already signed up to receive information about the next-gen console.
The keen interest for the PS4 has already prompted GameStop to suggest Sony will not be able to keep up with demand for the console, especially in the period immediately after the release date.
“Although we have been given no official numbers by Sony, we do believe that demand will far outpace the supply of this product during the launch window,” said President of GameStop, Tony Bartel.
Sources from component makers for the PS4 have already reported that Sony is looking to ship 16 million PS4 consoles by the end of this year, which would also equate to a global launch.
Are you expecting to get your hands on a PS4 in time for Christmas? Or do you think Sony will stagger the console’s launch? Let us know via the TrustedReviews Facebook and Twitter pages or the comments below.
Via: Xbit Labs
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.
