"We have identified a production issue": Sony pulls its PlayStation Pulse Elevate speakers ahead of this week's launch

Announced more than a year ago, Sony's PlayStation-friendly Pulse Elevate wireless speakers have taken a while to get here. But now fans will have to wait a bit longer still – the company has identified a "production issue with the product" and has delayed them further.

Originally set for release this week – on Thursday 12 November – the speakers have now been delayed indefinitely. It seems that at least of the units that have been manufactured so far failed to "deliver the experience we intended for our players".

The announcement was made on the PlayStation Blog, with an apology and hope that the issue will be resolved "soon".

I can only imagine what the problem might have been – whether it was an audio issue affecting performance or something involving the wireless technology.

Sony's Pulse Elevate speakers – what's gone wrong?

The Pulse Elevate speakers come as a stereo pair in either black or white. They can stand either flat or tilted backwards to direct the sound at an angle – ideal for desktop use, say.

They use PlayStation Link wireless connectivity and work with PC and Mac, as well as PS5 and the PlayStation Portal handheld. It's an "ultra-low latency" and lossless connection that allows them to connect to your device via an included USB adapter.

They are also Bluetooth-enabled, so you can send audio from a separate device, such as your smartphone or tablet. And you can even listen to a Bluetooth stream and game audio delivered by PlayStation Link at the same time.

Basically, there are a few things that could have gone wrong there.

Alternatively, the speakers sport planar magnetic drivers and support Tempest 3D AudioTech to achieve virtual spatial sound from a stereo pair. And there are built-in subwoofers for deeper bass.

And, with AI noise reduction on the built-in mic in the right-hand speaker, you are meant to get clear, precise voice chat.

Again, any of those elements could have been the problem.

To be honest, it's brave for a company to pull a product so close to release, fix it and ensure it's delivering what it promised. Applaudable, in fact.

After all, the Pulse Elevate speakers cost £199.99 / $219.99, so I'd rather they worked as they should. And I'm happy to wait, in that case.