Pro PS4, Nintendo Mini Classics, PlayStation VR: Christmas shortages Reviews

Will there they bloom small words of apology at the foot of the pines on 25 December? Three new popular consoles of the year 2016 – the virtual reality helmet PS RV Sony , already available; the high-end console PS4 Pro, released Thursday, November 10; and the box to play nostalgic Nintendo NES Classic Mini, sold Saturday, November 12 – head to stockouts for the holidays.

“We had to book it several months ago”
That of the NES Classic Mini was foreseeable long. Console retro Nintendo, which allows replay for thirty classics of the 1980s and 1990s to 60 euros, flies over the tops of the pre-reservation since it was announced in July. Its controls are closed today for a long time.
“To have a Christmas, we had to book several months ago” , says one side of Fnac. In this Micromania the center of Lyon , the demand is much greater than the offer: “We have 90 reservations, we are already out of stock over the next two supplies, Christmas and February. “” Given the demand, we would have 40. But if we have 5 we will already be happy ” , outlines, philosopher, manage the independent
The virtual reality headset PlayStation VR.

The virtual reality helmet VR PlayStation. Sony
PS VR, virtual reality headset from Sony, is meanwhile already available, but suffers from supply problems. Result, inventory arriving “at dropper,” notes are we at Micromania, and waiting lists are filling faster than the products arrive, around the shops surveyed. Same for the PlayStation 4 Pro, the new model of ultra high-end Sony console, for which the stores expect to receive adjusted for stocks not cover that bookings.

For retail professionals, there often is no doubt that these stockouts are expertly maintained by the manufacturers themselves, which would see a way to make up the application. “This is the theory of the classic plot but the reason is much simpler , if exasperated, on condition of anonymity, an industry related to one of the two manufacturers. Nobody likes stockouts because they are lost sales. But we do not represent the difficulty is that to happen suddenly millions of copies of a new console. The magic plant, it does not exist. ”
The situation of these three devices, however, is different enough that the only explanation is sufficient logistics. According to figures circulating in the distribution sector , only 100,000 NES Classic Mini were allocated to France , a low number. If Nintendo does not disclose implemented at the local level, it remains that the Japanese manufacturer has no interest in too put emphasis on this retro console, the risk of passing , like Atari and Sega before him, for a brand the past. With Pokémon Sun and Pokémon Moon arriving in November and Nintendo Switch, its future console, in March, the Kyoto company has also other priorities.
Questioned by Le Monde , France defends Nintendo still to lose interest in his product:
“We believe that the Nintendo Mini Classic: Nintendo Entertainment System can be a success and we will do our best to respond . Demand at launch and beyond with new supplies for the holidays and after ”

Caution Sony
Sony faces other problems. PlayStation VR side, its first virtual reality headset, the Tokyo manufacturer faces two challenges. On the one hand a high rate of manufacturing defects from the factory, industrial corollary of a new technology. On the other hand a lack of visibility of the commercial potential of this type of device. In this regard, the launch of the PS VR was tested. During the presentation of its financial results ending fiscal half, Sony announced a substantial increase in production, after watching “very good sales and stores that are insufficient stocks” . The manufacturer, however, gives no figures.

The PS4 Pro.
The PlayStation 4 Pro, finally, is not intended to be the Mr. Tout-le console World at Christmas. Starting price at 400 euros and designed to exploit the 4K TVs, the installed base still low, it is for a precise and limited clientele. Moreover, Sony may give the impression to lose interest overnight PlayStation 4 standard, which is the main engine of current sales. In the distribution, it is actually also no secret: the Xbox One S, which had a very good launch in September, the PS4 will remain the most purchased Christmas console. All models, Sony expects 20 million consoles sold on the year.
Consumers in search of new devices will have to take their troubles patiently or turn to the second hand market, where speculation is going well. Or solution as simple as misunderstood, track machine of his dreams on the day of its release in stores not taking reservations, such as hypermarkets or toy stores.