Buying a PS5 is an extremely difficult task usually ending in frustration (and anger at scalpers), and it now looks set to only get worse.
As Bloomberg reports, Sony is already struggling to keep up with demand for its latest console, but the Japanese company has now reached a point where it can’t even meet its own production target for the year. Sony had previously set a target of 16 million units for the year ending March 2022, but people familiar with the company’s operations believe this has now been downgraded to 15 million.
It’s not just chip shortages that are hampering console production. During an investors conference call last month, Sony Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki explained that logistics is also a problem. The combination of rising COVID-19 infections and “uneven vaccine rollouts” across countries Sony relies on for supplies has meant even if chips are available, shipping them to production facilities is unpredictable.
Although Sony has yet to comment publicly about the situation yet, rival Nintendo already admitted it can’t produce enough Switch consoles to meet demand this holiday season. Sony is already suffering that situation, but now it looks likely to get worse as we head into 2022.
