The Sony PS5 launched in November 2020 but, nine months later, it’s still nearly impossible to get your hands on one. This shortage has largely been put down to an international shortage of semiconductors – the same issue that has affected everything from graphics cards to motor cars.
Despite this, Sony announced in its Earnings Call this week that it has sold 10 million PS5s since the launch and is now on track to reach its target of 14.8 million by March 2022. That’s only another 4.8 million over seven months. Even at current sales rates, sales could reach 17 million by that date.
So, while initially, that sounds like a lot more consoles, it’s still unlikely to satisfy the demand. The PS5 has already beaten like-for-like sales of the PS4 during its first nine months of sales, and the PS4 has now sold over 100 million consoles since 2013 – that’s over 13 million a year.
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The story originally posted by Reuters reports that Sony has seen demand for the PS5 continue even as lockdowns have ended and people are heading back out of their houses. Jim Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO told Reuters, "We've built more PlayStations faster than we ever have before which makes me happy. But on the other hand, we're some time from being able to meet all the demand that's out there, which makes me feel bad."
So while it’s true that more stock will continue to hit the market, the day when you can just walk into your local electronics store, or casually decide to purchase one online, still appears to be some time off.
In the meantime, those of use still wanting to get hold of one need to be ready the second the stock drops online, and bash that refresh button in the hope of getting one in your basket before it sells out.
