Since its global launch in late 2020, Sony PS5 has not been easy to snag. Unlike previous consoles, this one seems to have been tricky to keep in stock from the get-go. So what is the problem exactly? The answer seems to lie in a global chip shortage that is impacting production in a lot of industries.
Getting Your Hands On PS5 – Now Even Harder
It started with the pandemic: more people stuck at home equals more people looking for ways to entertain themselves. Your friends want more gadgets, your kids want them too, heck, even your parents probably think they need new devices. Naturally, most of the new-generation tech gadgets use computer chips. During the pandemic, the demand for chips has increased significantly, which was apparently too overwhelming for the chip makers, leading to a slump in the manufacturing rate of electronics.
Sony did manage to ship 17.3 million units in time for the holidays, which is still about three million fewer than the PlayStation 4 at the equivalent period after its launch.
To keep the fans within the PlayStation ecosystem, Sony will be producing more PS4s, even though they originally planned to discontinue it by the end of 2021. Still, PS4 is one of the best-selling consoles with over 100 million units sold so far and it is still selling like crazy.
We hate to disappoint you, but Sony has lowered its forecast for PS5 shipments for this fiscal year from 14.8 million units to 11.5 million units, which strongly suggests they expect the supply issues to continue for a while.
In July, PS5 became the fastest Sony console to reach 10 million consoles sold. Since then, it has lost its pace compared to PS4. If you are eager to get your hands on PS5, you should keep an eye on random restocks at Walmart or Best Buy. For those more patient, Sony expects the situation to return to normal sometime in early 2022.
Learn more at TheVerge.com.
