PS5 restock issues are expected to run into 2022, according to Sony's Chief Financial Officer, Hiroki Totoki. The gloomy prediction comes amid an ongoing semiconductor shortage, which together with unprecedented demand for stay-at-home entertainment, has made it hard to find where to buy a PS5.
“I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Totoki is said to have told analysts at a confidential briefing (via Bloomberg).
“Can we drastically increase the supply? No, that’s not likely," Totoki reportedly said. "The shortage of semiconductors is one factor, but there are other factors that will impact on the production volume. So, at present, we’d like to aim at [beating] second year sales of 14.8 million, which was the second year of PS4."
Sony has been struggling to keep up with demand ever since the Playstation 5 launched back in November. Last week, Digitimes claimed the Japanese tech giant was considering a "change of design" in order to make it easier to produce the PS5 in large volumes.
To soften the blow, Sony's CFO followed up with an impressive earnings report. The report shows PS5 sales of 7.8million units, making the PS5 the fastest-selling console in the company's history. Not bad considering the ongoing supply issues.
Last month, Sony PlayStation CEO, Jim Ryan, hinted that the PS5 stock shortage 'could be over by May'. But it now appears to be unlikely that Sony will be able to meet demand any time soon.
With the hotly-anticipated expanded version of Grand Theft Auto V due for release in the second half of 2021, Sony could be in for bumper Christmas sales – if it can get enough PS5s into stores.
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