GameStop Expects ‘Largest Console Launch in History’ This Holiday Shopping Season

It's been seven long years since Sony launched its PlayStation 3 game console and eight years since Microsoft introduced the Xbox 360 to retail. To put that into perspective, some PC gamers were still using AGP graphics cards back then, like the GeForce 7600 GS and Radeon X1650 Pro. You can imagine the anticipation among console gamers leading up to the launch of the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One, both scheduled to ship in November.

GameStop chief Paul Raines is expecting this to be the "largest console launch in history," according to statements he made during a post earnings financial call.

GameStop

Raines stopped short of offering up predictions on the number of next generation consoles he expects GameStop to sell, nor did he say which one he expects to be the more popular out of the two. GameStop president Tony Bartel was just as evasive, though he did say that the PS4's "first to know" list currently has 1.5 million members versus the Xbox One list, which sits at 700,000 members.

Leading up to what will be an epic launch, GameStop's 4,400 store managers in the U.S. are all receiving hands-on training with both platforms. Or in other words, they're getting paid to play with the PS4 and Xbox One. Rough life, isn't it?