PlayStation 5 supply nightmare expected to last much longer than you think

XDA

By Brandon Russell

Published May 10, 2021

A Sony executive reportedly told analysts that the company won't be able to keep up with PlayStation 5 demand going into next year.

If you were hoping to score a PlayStation 5 this year, you’re going to be sorely disappointed. Apparently, Sony believes the console will continue to be in very limited supply, and the nightmare will supposedly last through 2022.

According to Bloomberg, Sony recently warned a group of analysts that the PlayStation 5 will be in short supply for the remainder of 2021. As a result, the company may fail to boost sales targets of the console, which so far has sold somewhere in the region of 7.8 million units through March 31. The company previously said it was hoping to sell at least 14.8 million units in the current fiscal year.

“I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Hiroki Totoki, Chief Financial Office at Sony, reportedly told analysts.

Since going on sale last November, the PlayStation 5 has been almost impossible to find, thanks in large part to a shortage of components brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand has been so fierce that every time new units are made available they instantly sell out — oftentimes in a matter of minutes. Everywhere you look the console is sold out unless you’re willing to pay way over retail price.

The silver lining is there’s really no reason to own a PlayStation 5 this early in its life. While there are a few exclusive titles, with a few more to come in 2021, we have yet to see a game that’s a true system seller. Everything else that’s been released over the past few months, including Resident Evil Village, is available across platform generations, and it will continue to be that way for the foreseeable future.

I wasn’t lucky enough to score a PlayStation 5 when it first went on sale at the end of last year. I was hoping to get one later this year, but it doesn’t sound like Sony is going to catch up with demand, which means I and millions of other gamers around the world won’t be able to buy the console until 2022 at the earliest.