PS4 will remain hard to find until April, says Sony

In the hunt for a PlayStation 4? Expect your search for the hot new console to be challenging until around April, a Sony executive has said. Speaking with MCV, PlayStation UK boss Fergal Gara said you shouldn't expect "free supply"--that is, reliable availability--until later this spring.

"I can't work it out precisely. But based on what I've seen so far, I think it is going to be tricky until around about April," Gara said. "You might get a fortnight or a week here or there where it is more available, but we should be back to free supply by about April."

"That's our best guess. It might be a little earlier than that, or it might be a little later," he added. "But we'll get there."

The PS4 has sold more than 5.3 million systems worldwide to date, easily surpassing the Xbox One's sales tally. Gara said part of the reason the PS4 has been so successful is because the landscape surrounding Sony's console business has changed dramatically since the last generation transition.

"I think the world has changed since we launched PS3," Gara said.

"The price differential between PS3 and PS4 is not nearly as a big as it was between PS2 and PS3. But you are also talking about a public that has become used to regular technology upgrades on reasonably expensive devices, like tablets and smartphones," he added. "So there is a comfort level with upgrading that meant consumers were ready earlier and there was a pent-up demand that we couldn't anticipate. It’s been a pleasant surprise."

PS4 sales stand to only grow in the coming days and weeks. The system launches in Sony's home country of Japan tomorrow, February 22.