PlayStation 3 is failing to sell out in many high profile stores across the nation, including branches of Best Buy, Wal-Mart and Electronics Boutique - and we've got the figures to show you exactly where you could walk in and pick up a console today.
In fact, if we'd had the cash, we could have bought at least 50 PS3s. Of the 33 shops we spoke to yesterday, from New York to San Francisco, 18 branches had stock available, from a couple of consoles right up to stacks of nearly 30. Our results show that we could have walked into any of the nine big US cities we covered and snapped up one of Sony's next-gen consoles.
Sony, however, claims that the numbers of unsold consoles sitting in shops do not indicate a lack of interest in PS3 - instead it recently told Reuters that this shows Sony's success in "keeping the supply pipeline moving." Yet several of the retailers we spoke to told us that deliveries often arrived at random or, as the Knoxville Best Buy told us, "whenever Sony decides to send them."
In contrast, Wii is still sold out across US (and UK) retailers like Amazon, Play, Argos and Game, while Microsoft's Xbox 360 was in very short supply at this point last year. Meanwhile, most eBay listings for Wiiare priced at over $350. While, as we found out earlier in the year, PS3 eBayers are failing to draw serious bids.
Now check out the outcome of our PS3 hunt across America:
1 Boston, MA - We found three PS3s in a GameStop, while the local EB Games told us deliveries are "random."
2 New York, NY - A nearby Wal-Mart could sell us a PS3, with more expected in a week.
3 Chicago, IL - GameStop, EB Games and Best Buy stores across the city were in stock when we called.
4 Knoxville, TN - One PS3 for sale in a local Best Buy but deliveries are arriving "whenever Sony decides to send them."
5 North Little Rock, AR - "Some" available at Electronics Boutique. Were they selling out quickly? EB said "No."
6 Dallas, TX - We tracked down a GameStop and a Best Buy that had PS3s available.
7 Santa Monica, CA - Just one EB Games, on Lincoln & Pico, had PS3s. But they had "a lot" for sale.
8 San Francisco, CA - Best Buy and EB Games outlets had a handful of consoles for us to buy.
9 Seattle, WA - There were just under 30 in a Bellevue Best Buy, and a dozen in the Westlake Center's Electronics Boutique.
January 17, 2007
