I certainly hope not, because that thing was a bitch to get a hold of. Took months and months of looking and I was finally able to get one at Toys R Us. Yes, I regret going through the trouble of getting that thing; sold it for rock band 1 and a preorder of rockband 2 at gamestop, so I made out okay in the end (made almost all of my money back).

Right now there's absolutely nowhere to pre order this thing, and I have a feeling this could last for the foreseeable future. I'm, currently, hedging my bets on Sears, which hasn't started taking online preorders (at least I don't think it has). Im guessing amazon is done with its preorders, unless it gets a major influx of cancellations.. I'm never ordering something from target online again (bad experience), best buy is probably done, gamestop is probably done...

There is one more place though. Sony's online store which also hasn't started taking online preorders. The problem there is that I can't seem to find a way to get an email notification for when it becomes available...

Well, if I cant get a launch day preorder I can still look forward to giant bomb doing a sweet live stream of it!

So are you still holding out hope that you can get your hands on a ps4 preorder? Is it a hopeless endeavor?

I don't anticipate a Wii situation where it'll be a year or more before you can easily walk into a store and get one, but supplies probably will sell through pretty quickly for the first few months.

I actually have a PS4 preorder on Amazon with guaranteed day-one delivery, but I'm honestly considering cancelling it.

There is hope. A certain amount of stock is being reserved for store shelves, which means if you line up on day 0 you might have a good chance of picking one up on release day.

That is if you're willing to wait in a line for a while. If you are I'd recommend going to a bigger retailer that doesn't have many customers most of the time, if there's one you can think of in your area.

If you cancel it now you maybe out of luck if you try getting one this year. As for the Wii situation. I don't think so. The PS4 has nothing what made the Wii such a success to people who never played a game before. The PS4 is "just" a console for gamer and that is their bet.

Well, I went to the midnight release of GTAV at walmart, and that shit was HECTIC. Ive been to black friday at Best buy a few times too. So, hell no am I waiting on line. 1) your chance of dying goes up by 200% when you go to such events and 2) theres a strong chance I won't even walk away with one. Also, cold weather aint fun to stand around in for hours.

Yeah, I thought the same thing "oh, walmart won't be crazy at midnight for GTAV. Ill just stroll in and pick up a copy". Nope! Barely got a copy (second to last 1 for ps3) and people were being extremely aggressive. And I dont even live in that crazy of an area (upstate NY).

Its the first console in a LONG ass time though (not counting the wii u), so people might be crazy about it. Hype seems pretty high at the moment, and what's to stop sony from limiting stock to generate even more hype. Worked out well for the wii, except it had no games, so they sold a lot of consoles but almost no software.

At least that would mean it would be selling well. Hopefully it does, and the xbox as well. I like consoles and hope this isn't the last generation.

@darji: If I cancel my preorder, I don't plan on picking one up until probably at least after inFamous is released.

Gamestop just released more Xbox Ones. This is the second or third time I have gotten the notification. Gamestop hasn't done this at all for the PS3. This makes me think they are firm in their pre-order numbers and trying to bolster on hand stock to at least a few units per store. I'm sure some stores will get larger allocations, regardless you will be required to go out of your way to get one. In this way it WILL be like the Wii.

I waited in line for a Wii at the Nintendo store in Manhatten over A YEAR after it came out. Had to get up at like 5 AM on a rainy January morning. In this way it WILL NOT be like the Wii.

I doubt the PS4 will be like the Wii. Sony is several times larger than Nintendo and probably has the capability the rev up far more production through its partners.

Also, recall that the magnitude of the Wii's success with traditional non-gamers came out of left field (as much as it may seem obvious in hindsight). I suspect they have a much better handle on what to expect here.

I think both Sony and MS are trying to not have a shortage like they did last go around and like the Wii had. I think they are getting much better yields out of the components and from what I've heard about Sony, they are trying to get as many systems out there as they can for people to buy.

I'm sure both consoles will sell out initially but I have a feeling that a steady flow of inventory will be pushed out for the holiday season.

Doubt it

I will be picking up my PS4 at WalMart at midnight release.. What time should i get there in order to not be the last one in line?

I don't think there will be a shortage past January for anything. Supply chains have gotten better in the last decade.

Though I did hear something about the government shutdown messing up customs and international trade. So there's that.

Maybe? I'm sure Sony would love if that happened.

Personally I've had a pre-order from day one even though I've come to realize like many others that there are no games I'm interested in on day 1. I'll enjoy tinkering with it though!

Depending on how much faith you put in Michael Pachter he's projecting that Sony can make a 1 million units a month so as long as demand doesn't outstrip this amount its probably going to be easier to get than the Wii. Its also not available around the world so worst case scenario they can redirect stock to the bigger regions instead of launch worldwide, sucks for places like Australia and South America in that case. Also Sony is a dedicated hardware manufacturer unlike Nintendo and MS, if demand gets crazy like it did with the Wii, they are probably better equipped to ramp up production.

This. Considering for decades the company was exclusively an electronics business, Sony is no stranger to hardware manufacturing. And if I recall correctly, Wii shortages even a few weeks out weren't there for hype, they had some major factory problems.

Also, "The PS4 sells out!" is a desirable headline, but they'll want more supply right away for those that get on that hype train to actually buy.

Wait there was a problem getting the Wii?
I remember the day it launched, no pre-order, stores open and I just walked right in and bought one.
Same with 360 and PS3.

That being said, yeah, if it did sell out then that probably wouldn't make anyone over at Sony cry tears of sadness.

@chaser324: I'm with you, considering canceling my pre-order, since the launch line-up (for both consoles) isn't all that hot.

All I can say is that I'm damn excited to get my new Playstation! Can not wait!

I don't think so. With the Wii everyone and their fucking grandmother was looking for one. So, you were fighting nerds, mothers, old people, and that creepy dude who works at the nursing home for a Wii. This time around you are just fighting console buyers.

At worst you will need to be scouring stores in December looking for one, but my guess is that by January 2nd even the laziest person will find a PS4 on a shelf or behind a register. If you really want one in Nov/Dec you will have to call around or show up to a store off the beaten path, but this won't drag on for months like the Wii did.

I'm not sure if this is a joke or not, but I assure you that the Wii was incredibly hard to find for over a year due to high demand and low supply. Here's a CNET article from over a year after launch about supplies still being limited:

http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-9833947-1.html

I actually froze my ass off waiting in line to get a Wii on launch day. I'm absolutely never going to do that again.

I live in Canada, and people get excited and products sell out and people are disappointed... But seriously, is there a country in the world other than America where extreme aggression related to purchasing luxury items is considered routine? I'm sure it must happen elsewhere, but whenever I hear about violence and trampling and aggro behaviour related to consumer products, it always seems to come from America.

I haven't preordered a PS4. Somehow I expect I'll still be able to get one without much effort. Maybe I'm being naive.

: ( that made me sad for living in such a country... lucky Canadian.

Heh. I remember my dad wanting to get a Wii for Christmas for the family, so we met up with some guy that sold one to us behind the local Toys R Us. Felt incredibly shady the whole time, but hey, we got our Wii for Christmas. Think he paid like an additional $50 on top of the MSRP.

Took me 2 years to find a wii. I'll admit it frustrated me a bit. Damn florida with its grandpa's and grandma's buying it for only wii sports.

2 days before?

It's certainly not routine but I live in the U.K. and someone got stabbed for their copy of GTA V :(

@funkys: Yeah I assumed it wasn't culturally unique to America. Just seems weird when psychopathic anger is expected, almost considered the norm everytime a popular consumer product comes out.

Then again, I cussed the shit out of my TV when my friends were having a blasty playing GTA Online and I was getting "servers are down" errors, so maybe I'm a hypocrite.

yeah i doubt that will happen sony is not in the same place as Nintendo. Sony has a direct rival of Microsoft so they know that a sold out system someone can't get is a high chance it will be a sell for Microsoft. Sony wants to have units out there at all times to meet demand.

I dunno, would Sony really desire for PS4s to be unavailable? This isn't like the Wii where if you couldn't get one, there was really no other alternative. With the PS4 you have a direct competitor. If PS4s are just not available anywhere, I think a lot of people who were on the fence about getting one would sooner just pick up a xbox if it was in stock since a lot of the games will be coming out on both anyways. Sure people who really want a PS4 will wait but I think hardcore fans are a minority audience for consoles now.

I had no idea, I guess it didn't sell that well in this part of Europe then (Denmark, to be specific)
You could basically walk in from the street every day since day one of it's launch here and just grab one.

You can travel to a developing country and buy one there.

If you aren't trampling, punching, or shooting people for an item, you're a bunch of pussies. (I'm kidding)

I remember when the PS3 came out, a guy got shot. Another time was Black Friday, a guy got trampled to death when the store opened. Fucking Americans disgust me. Materialistic bastards.(Not all of them obviously)

Disclaimer: I'm American.

Sony should just let you order one from your PS3, come full circle already.

Should it really matter? I still believe in my opinion that buying a launch console is almost always a bad idea. Wait and see what is borked with each console before rushing out and picking sides.

The Wii had everyone from lil' kids to old folks hyped up to plug it in and play bowling. To make the deal even sweeter, it was like...$250 at launch.

$250 > $400

Sony would have to pull off some witchcraft to have same effect on consumers seven years later. Well, either that or release Persona 5/HL3/The Last Guardian at launch.

That is why I never go to launch events or stand in line on Black Friday. Everyone troops in like a bunch of idiots and then come pour out of the store with a 1.5' x 1.5' x 6" bag with $600 worth of easily portable goods. Of course you got robbed, trampled, and beat up! You live is "East Ass Fuck" in the state of "Extreme Poverty" and you walked out of a big box store store hooting & hollering like a fool adverting your exact location.

Just an FYI: There are no longer REAL Black Fridays sales on electronics. Those all happened 15 years ago in an era where returns and left over stock was a REAL thing. Today all stores that sell electronics specifically buy GARBAGE made in China that can be sold for what looks like a cheap price, it not left over stock...it not extra stock.... it is just cheaper versions of products typically not sold in the US. Wow, look its a Vizio M321i-A2 for only $175!!! No, idiots it a Vizio M321i-A2s for $175, which lacks a third HDMI port, doesn't have the good CPU chip in it, comes with a crappy remote, and uses 12 less screws in assembly. Congratulation, you have bough a $165 hdtv, typically only sold in the backstreets of Singapore, for $175....WOW, WHAT A BARGAIN!

I do not think that Sony will make it hard to pick up a PS4.