Sony announced that it is selling spare parts for its best-selling PlayStation 4 gaming console in Japan, but currently has no plans to offer the service in the west.
Sony, the maker of the world's best selling PlayStation consoles, is taking a new approach to meet the demand for its critically acclaimed PlayStation 4. The electronics company commenced a new service in Japan that allows local shoppers to pick up spare parts for their PlayStation 4, such as HDD bay cover, bay bracket, screw set, or power cord.
DualShockers, which was the first to break the news, reports the extension plans of the new PS4 service to the western countries in Europe or the United States are less likely at the moment. According to the news site, Sony is offering the HDD bay cover for ¥1000 (about $10), HDD bay bracket for ¥500 ($5), screw set for ¥250 ($2.50) and the power cord for ¥450 ($4). The Japanese conglomerate already offers a similar service for its PlayStation 3 console, but only in Japan, which makes it less likely for the PS4 spare parts offering to arrive in other regions.
However, the ever-increasing demand for the PlayStation 4 could likely force the PlayStation maker to make spare parts replacement an option. The service offers just a limited range of PS4 parts, which does not allow anyone to build a PS4 from scratch. This way, Sony is keeping control over fixing the major PS4 problems for itself.
Sony has highlighted the struggle to keep up with the growing demand for its PS4 gaming console. The company surpassed its pledged goal of selling 5 million units by the end of fiscal year much earlier than expected. Sony's first million mark was achieved within just 24 hours after launch in the U.S. and Canada. PlayStation 4 sales outdid its rival Xbox One with nearly double the sales in January and just last month Sony said it surpassed 6 million units worldwide, in less than four months since launch.
Fighting the increasing demand for the PlayStation 4, a Sony executive confirmed that the company will regain its full supply situation in the coming days.
"I can't work [the math] out precisely," PlayStation U.K. executive Fergal Gara said in a statement, according to the Christian Post. "But based on what I've seen so far, I think it is going to be [hard to find a console] until around about April. 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. But we'll get there."
Sony released its PS4 system in 57 countries worldwide including Japan.
