The PlayStation 5’s release was certainly eventful. The new console boasted impressive hardware including ray-tracing technology that fans were eager to get their hands on, though demand for the console continues to be so high that it remains incredibly difficult to track down, even causing fights to break out in retail stores like Walmart over it.
When Sony’s PlayStation 5 was announced few could have predicted the console continuing to sell out in mere minutes. Ever since its launch, PlayStation has been scrambling to pump out additional stock with the company not being able to get the device freely available in stores to this day. This is largely in part to the influence of scalpers, who have gone so far as to utilize retail website loopholes in order to purchase the PS5 ahead of others.
Now the end may finally be in sight as Sony reveals its new approach to ensuring the PS5 stock recovers. No timeframe was given, but PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan confirmed that the company was “working hard” to meet demand. After thanking fans for embracing the PS5, the CEO said that the available stock will increase each month. Ryan blamed the stock shortage on a combination of factors, but largely attributed it to the COVID-19 pandemic. The CEO referenced “widely documented” delays in semiconductor production, a material which is used to make a CPU, the brain of a PS5.
Fans will surely rejoice at the promise of more PlayStation 5 stock on its way. Only 4.5 million users of the many who want to have one got their hands on the device up till now. Sony’s inability to appropriately stock for the shortage may be in part due to a desire to protect itself from overstocking. After all, the company had huge expectations for the PS Vita but it never came close to its desired profits.
Worldwide console stock shortages are not a new thing. The gaming community saw similar circumstances arise with the Xbox Series X/S consoles just last year and even the Nintendo Switch launch back in 2017. In fact, the Switch’s stock was lowered to the point where its key launch title outsold the device itself. Sony’s own PS4 also experienced stock shortages back in 2013. The console was unavailable for months, as was the PS3 in 2006. These events led Ryan to make his now broken 2020 promise that there would be no shortage of PS5’s available.
Source: GQ Magazine