The PS5 Shortages Could Be Over Shortly — Or Is It Just Wishful Thinking?

Since its release in late 2020, getting your hands on a PS5 has been nearly impossible.

But Sony has good news for you.

More PS5 Will Be Available

Digital Trends reported that Sony expects to sell 18 million consoles worldwide this fiscal year, which runs to March 31, 2023, indicating that the PS5 shortage may be over.

According to the company's most recent earnings report, that forecast is up more than 60% from the 11.2 million PS5 units produced and sold in the previous fiscal year.

Will There Be Enough Supply To Meet Demand?

While Sony is hopeful that chip and other part shortages are improving, CFO Hikori Totoki said that the PS5 sales forecast is modest. In other words, Sony believes the increase will still be insufficient to meet the PS5's sky-high demand in the coming months.

Totoki revealed that the business had planned to produce 22.6 million consoles by this point in the system's life cycle, but had to lower that number to 18 million owing to component shortages.

In the first quarter of 2022, Sony sold roughly 2 million PS5 consoles, with a total of 19 million shipped since November 2020.

While Totoki considers 18 million consoles to be a small number, Digital Trends noted that it's enough to relieve PS5 fans of the stress of seeing the console sell out every time stores announce stock drops. The more optimistic thought is especially true as the company prepares for the launch of the updated PS Plus, which begins at the end of May.

Why Is There a PS5 Shortage?

Techradar listed things that disrupt the availability of PS5, which we have compiled below:

• Due to the pandemic, manufacturing and shipping timetables were pushed back, and demand outstripped supply. So COVID-19 is a big reason why PS5 is out of stock right now. For a product that everyone desired so desperately, things didn't get off to a great start.
• During the pandemic, many began working from home, which increased demand for computers and webcams, as well as semiconductors and components - some of which were used by Sony in the PlayStation 5 console.
• Some people take consoles away from everyday consumers so that they can resell the PS5 at an astronomically high price and double their money.
• Crypto mining is another factor affecting the PS5 supply issue, as both require GPU.

How Did the Chip Shortage Affect Sony and Other Gaming Console Companies?

According to Forbes, the shortage of the Sony's PS5 supply "have allowed Xbox to gain ground, especially with the more widely available Xbox Series S."

The report highlighted that Sony is currently dealing with two major issues: console supply and online subscriptions.

But it should be noted that Sony is not the only company that has been affected by the chip shortage.

Ars Technica reported that while Microsoft's Xbox Series X has been plagued by major retail shortages well into 2022, the cheaper Xbox Series S has been comparatively easy to come by. The Nintendo Switch has seen similar extensive shortages for its pricier $349 OLED model, although the $299 regular model has been a little easier to come by.