Don’t expect it to get easier to find a PlayStation 5 any time soon. Bloomberg today reported that Sony doesn’t think it will be able to meet the demand for the console even if it manages to dramatically increase production throughout 2021 and 2022.
Sony announced in April that it had sold 7.8 million units of the PS5 just six months after it was released. Bloomberg said the company’s chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, briefed analysts on the console’s outlook shortly after that announcement.
“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,” Totoki reportedly said at the briefing, “our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand.”
Sony isn’t alone—it’s hard to name a company that hasn’t been affected by the global chip shortage. Nintendo’s similarly worried about being able to source parts for the Switch, for example, and even Apple’s supply has started to be constrained.
Combine those supply constraints with record-setting demand for the PS5, and it’s not hard to see why people have resorted to buying the console from scalpers, constantly keeping an eye out for restocks, and making offerings to forgotten gods to improve their luck. (Alright, that last one probably isn’t as common as the first two.)
Sony doesn’t seem to be resting on its laurels: The company is reportedly working on a redesigned PS5 featuring a new 6nm system-on-a-chip from AMD and TSMC that’s supposed to reduce both the cost of manufacturing the console and its lead time.
It’s not clear how much those changes would help consumers—there’s always the chance the reduced price would increase demand so much that the improved supply merely maintains the status quo rather than improving the console’s availability.
But at least the company is working on it… even if its own leadership doesn’t think the PS5’s going to be in ready supply until 2023. (At the earliest.) In the meantime, well, it might be worth looking into some of those eldritch rituals.
