Following an unexpectedly chaotic opening to PlayStation 5 pre-orders, Sony says it has not adjusted the number of consoles it's producing, but promises to make more available to retailers. The news comes after demand for the next-gen console crashed several retailers' servers and their respective stocks sold out.
At the end of last week's PlayStation 5 showcase, both the price and release date for the console were announced and pre-orders went live at several retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, and Gamestop. However, demand far exceeded expectations, resulting in many retailers quickly selling out, with Amazon even announcing that it may be unable to deliver all PS5 orders on launch day.
Following the rough roll-out of pre-orders, Sony publicly issued an apology for the disappointing first few days of their availability. Now, GamesIndustry.biz reports that the company is promising to make more units available for retailers, and that it has not "changed the production number for PlayStation 5 since the start of mass production." This clarification comes in response to a rumor that Sony was cutting production from its previously stated goals, although the company was quick to dispel the confusion.
PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan has gone on record saying that the PS5 will have more available stock at launch than the PS4, yet it looks like demand for the PS5 will also exceed that of the PS4. The PS4 sold 2.1 million units within its first two weeks. Based on Ryan's comments, it's expected that at least that many PS5s will be produced, although exactly how many more is still unknown. While it is reassuring to hear that Sony will not be affected by COVID-19 too severely, it is also curious that it did not say it's choosing to increase production to match the overwhelming demand.
Back in the spring, when COVID-19 began shutting down various industries around the world, the PS5 had not yet gone into mass production. As such, the console's availability was a concern from the beginning, and after last week, it appears that that could still be an issue. Mass production on the PS5 did not start until June, surely later than Sony wanted. The delay, plus the wild demand, might prove to be too large of a task for the current rate of production, despite Sony's best efforts.
The Playstation 5 will be released in select regions on November 12th and worldwide on November 19th.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz
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