Report: Walmart may have more stock of Xbox One than PlayStation 4

Although both Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One are expected to sell well over the holiday period, there will always be those who pick sides, wanting to see who does better. Will Microsoft’s “one” system sway shoppers over Sony? Or will both consoles break even? In reality, it doesn’t matter as both systems will be around for years to come, but in terms of stock, Microsoft may have the edge over the PlayStation.

Someone who works in the electronics section of Walmart has informed us that their store has many more of the Xbox One consoles than the PlayStation 4. It’s not uncommon for retail chains to hold back on merchandise until Black Friday (and increasingly, Thanksgiving night). In this case, many Walmarts have a heap of next-gen consoles standing by for the big day. But Microsoft and Sony may not be even in terms of number of units available.

According to our source (who supplied the above photos), their Walmart has only received six PS4s to sell on Thanksgiving-night versus the twenty-four Xbox One units from Microsoft. Assuming this information is accurate, Microsoft appears to have the edge in terms of a supply chain -- 4X as much at this outlet.

Of course, this is but one store and things could vary differently from location to location. But such a wide discrepancy, even in this one Walmart, could leave many hopeful Sony fans empty-handed this weekend, whereas Microsoft may be able to meet demand.

Daniel Rubino
Editor-in-chief

Daniel Rubino is the Editor-in-chief of Windows Central. He is also the head reviewer, podcast co-host, and analyst. He has been covering Microsoft since 2007, when this site was called WMExperts (and later Windows Phone Central). His interests include Windows, laptops, next-gen computing, and watches. He has been reviewing laptops since 2015 and is particularly fond of 2-in-1 convertibles, ARM processors, new form factors, and thin-and-light PCs. Before all this tech stuff, he worked on a Ph.D. in linguistics, watched people sleep (for medical purposes!), and ran the projectors at movie theaters because it was fun.