Playstation 4 Sold Out at Gamestop, Xbox One Sold Out at Best Buy

Ladies and gentlemen, we truly do have quite a fight on our hands.

Ever since Sony unleashed a barrage on Microsoft's DRM policies at their E3 conference, The Eighth Console War has been a flurry of activity. Where things once seemed a landslide in Sony's favor, there is now a degree of doubt as Microsoft's dramatic shutdown of the Xbox One's controversial DRM evened the playing field somewhat. Replacing Don Mattrick, a man who was a walking PR nightmare, with Steve Ballmer, a man who strikes fear in the hearts of his enemies, has also kept things interesting.

On Monday, Gamestop stopped taking pre-orders of the Playstation 4 due to overwhelming demand, even in spite of Sony's call for them to take "unlimited" reservations. Sony fans took this as a clear sign that their console was reigning supreme, though some noted the Xbox One's Day One edition was still performing well.

Then, yesterday, IGN reported that Best Buy's online supply of Xbox One pre-orders has apparently sold out as well, a feather in Microsoft's cap which indicates that the battle is very much still on.

There are discrepancies to take into account, of course, as we likely won't know until after launch any hard numbers on these pre-orders, so this does not necessarily indicate that one console is presently selling better than the other or whether they actually are even. It does speak somewhat to the demographics these consoles appeal to, and how they appear to be lining up to the expectations we traditionally have for them: Gamestop, a store exclusively catering to gamers, will likely hold the attention of core gamers just a little bit more than Best Buy, which is a place more heavily attended by the general mass of consumers.

No matter what can be gleamed from this information, the one exciting thing which this speaks to is that these corporations are going to be doing bloody battle for our hard-earned money. Remember that when they do battle, the consumer (usually) wins.