In an ironic turn of events, Japanese retailers have started to have difficulties to get hold of enough PS4 units to meet the demand, just at the same time that Nintendo Switch has managed to overcome its year-long stock issues. The reason for this boost in interest on Sony’s console is the launch of Capcom’s megaseller Monster Hunter: World, which has made the Japanese public suddenly more interested in owning a home console despite their preference for mobile and portable platforms. Thanks to this, the PS4 has been topping the Japanese sales charts for five consecutive weeks according to Media Create.
The fact that retailers like BIC Camera or EDION have sold all their stock has even made the price of the console on online sites like Amazon or Rakuten Market rise above its usual level.
While Monster Hunter: World was released a little more than a month ago, sales have kept strong in the following weeks, as we have been reporting regularly, and many users have now decided to purchase the console to play the game. The problem is, Sony was not anticipating such a strong affluence of new users, with some rumors even suggesting that the console would have sold out all the units reserved for the current trimester.
In declarations with Yahoo Japan (in Japanese) a representative of Sony Interactive Entertainment has confirmed that the company is aware of the stock situation in the country, and that they are working on meeting the demand. And while the company doesn’t give information on their specific production plans, new reports from retailers indicate that the release this week of the Glacier White PS4 Pro and the PS4 Slim bundles with the new Fist of the North Star game have helped to ease the situation for now.
Published: Mar 9, 2018 03:00 pm