Sony Interactive Entertainment president Jim Ryan has confirmed that the PlayStation 5 console shortages are at an end, as consumers should it significantly easier to get their hands on the next-generation console. Sony's PlayStation 5 console has been extremely hard to find ever since it originally launched in November of 2020, with a variety of factors keeping Sony from being able to meet consumer demand.
Chip shortages, aggressive scalpers, and the COVID-19 pandemic all played roles in keeping PS5 consoles in short supply. For years, gamers were left trying to buy PS5 consoles online in extremely limited restocks that were often poached by scalpers. Various retailers came up with loyalty programs and other methods to make getting a PS5 a little easier, but many had to resort to paying scalper prices to get the console.
Now it seems those days are finally over, as announced by Jim Ryan during Sony's CES 2023 presentation. At the event, Ryan confirmed that Sony has now sold more than 30 million PlayStation 5 consoles and that everyone "should have a much easier time finding one" at retail stores "from this point forward." Ryan also confirmed that December 2022 was the biggest month for PS5 sales to date, indicating that the console was a huge hit with the holiday shopping crowd.
Sony has dramatically increased PS5 supply, and it is clearly paying off. In turn, this should help PS5 software sales, which struggled somewhat at first due to low supply. 2023 should have plenty of potential system-sellers that could help PS5 consoles fly off the shelves. Besides major first-party releases like Spider-Man 2, there's also big third-party games like Hogwarts Legacy to take into account, especially now that the open world Harry Potter game will be out on PS5 months before the PS4 version is available.
The larger the PS5 install base, the more incentive developers have to invest resources in producing games specifically for the system, and so hopefully this means that cross-gen releases will soon become a thing of the past. Games that are built from the ground-up with the new hardware in mind are able to better take advantage of the PS5's horsepower and unique features, so it should be exciting to see what comes out in the years ahead.
The more PS5 consoles are in gamers' homes, the more potential customers Sony has not just for gaming software, but hardware as well. The PlayStation VR2 headset is scheduled to launch at the end of February, and since it's only compatible with PS5 consoles, it's extremely important for Sony to sell as many PS5 consoles as possible. Unsurprisingly, the PS VR2 was a focus during the CES 2023 event, with Sony announcing big games like Beat Saber and a VR mode for Gran Turismo 7.