According to Sony, PS4 hopefuls are going to have to fill their stockings with something else this year.

UNLESS ordered months ago, your chance of finding a PlayStation 4 console under the Christmas tree is extremely remote.

Sony today confirmed it had already sold all of its January stock, leaving Australian PlayStation 4 buyers little chance of seeing the next-generation console on store shelves until February at the earliest.

Only those who ordered in June, July or August have a chance of receiving a console in time.

Sony Computer Entertainment managing director Michael Ephraim said the company had been "overwhelmed with the demand" for the PlayStation 4 console and was still focusing on fulfilling orders placed months earlier when the console was unveiled.

"If you haven't pre-ordered, it is very unlikely (you'll see a console before Christmas) unless retailers have had cancellations," Mr Ephraim said.

"If you pre-ordered before Christmas, give the person you're giving the gift to an IOU and you will be able to get them a console in February."

Mr Ephraim said Australian retailers were "still putting on thousands of pre-orders" of the $549 machine every week, but Sony couldn't meet the demand, with similar backlogs in Europe, the UK and the US.

Launching in so many countries so close to one another had caused the issue, he said, though stock shortages should clear by February or March next year.

Sony recently announced it had sold 2.1 million PlayStation 4 consoles in its first two weeks on the market.

Microsoft's competing next-generation console, the $599 Xbox One, racked up 2 million console sales in 18 days, but claimed the title of the most successful console launch in Australia, with 65,917 units sold in its first three days, according to NPD Group.

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