PS4 please come home

If that big rectangular box under your Christmas tree didn’t turn out to be a PlayStation 4, then you may want to sit down before reading on. We’ve been in touch with virtually all of the UK’s biggest supermarkets and high street stores, and we’re afraid that Sony’s next generation console is going to remain scarce throughout the winter break.

The most positive response that we received came from Tesco, who told us that it “may or may not” have wild systems available on Boxing Day. “Unfortunately, we can’t advise on stock levels for the new consoles because they’re just so popular,” a representative informed us. “Pop in and see.” Fellow giant Asda offered a similar response, notifying us that while it’s getting new stock regularly, it’s selling out fast. “You’re best checking with your local store directly,” we were told.

Sainsbury’s explained that all of its stock is centrally allocated, so it can’t really give us any information on hardware availability, while Argos offered a similar response. As for John Lewis, all we were told is that new consoles are on order, but it’s unclear when or where they’ll arrive. Amazon’s currently all sold out online, with no indication of when new units will appear. And while we were unable to get in touch with GAME, we know that it recently had a fresh allocation of consoles flown in prior to Christmas, which have probably all sold out by now.

That leaves Zavvi, who do have a few bundles available at the time of writing. You can currently grab a custom seasonal set featuring Killzone: Shadow Fall, Need for Speed: Rivals, LEGO Marvel Super Heroes, and NBA Live 14 for £529.99. There’s also a package featuring Guerrilla Games’ abovementioned first-person shooter available for £394.99.

As always, it’s probably best checking with your local store before giving up hope, as there’s a slim chance that they may have a stray unit or two kicking around. Otherwise, you may have to wait until the New Year before securing one of Sony’s slick new systems. How’s your hunt going? Let us know if you locate any spare units in the comments section below.

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