Sony Reveals Reasons for PS5 Crisis- Primarily Blames Scarcity of Processors

Published 02/24/2021, 3:29 PM EST

Sony released PlayStation 5 in North America, Australia, Europe, and other primary markets across the map in November 2020. The company then published its sales figures for the financial quarter ending on December 31, 2020. As expected, Sony saw its finest year ever, achieving record-breaking figures across several gaming ventures. With over 4.5 million units shipped till date, the PS5 launch was the driving force towards Sony’s record-breaking numbers.

However, soon after the launch of the consoles, stocks ran out. Retailers saw a tremendous demand from the customers, with hardly any restocks from the company. After a few weeks of not making ends meet, Sony declared a crisis of the consoles. It accepted that its production rate could not meet the demands of the market. However, the company reassured fans it was taking the shortage of supply seriously. PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan appeared on an interview with The Washington Post and explained how such a massive miscalculation occurred.

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Please check out my interview with @BritishGQ where I talk about easter eggs, continuing to publish our games on PC and not calling the next generation of #PlayStationVR anything.https://t.co/XgZN9Tkf0o #PlayStation5 #hype #choochooo
— Jim Ryan SIE – almost authentic (@JimRyanSIE) February 23, 2021

What led to Sony facing the PS5 crisis?

Playstation CEO Jim Ryan gave two major reasons for one of the biggest supplies shortages in the history of Sony. He started off by mentioning how “very sorry” they are that more people do not have access to PlayStation 5. Both Sony’s PS5 and Microsoft’s Xbox had a hard time adjusting with the sales during the pandemic.

“Demand was greater than we anticipated,” Ryan said. “That, along with the complexities of the supply chain issues, resulted in a slightly lower supply than we initially anticipated.”

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The team did not foresee the gigantic demand of the consoles. They knew it would sell more than the PlayStation 4 (4.2 million by the end of 2013), but the pandemic increased the demand exponentially. However, the company produced “slightly lower” than the expected number of consoles. He blamed it on the prevailing global scarcity of semiconductor chips. Sony unknowingly entered a race against auto manufacturers and smartphone companies to bag more processors. Further, scalpers and re-sellers simply made production tougher.

Months after the initial release, Ryan revealed that the production of PS5 is “ramping up steadily.” He hopes buyers will soon be able to purchase the consoles from their favorite retailers instead of online bots.

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Let’s see how long it will take for Sony to get their supplies back, fulfilling fans’ demands.

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Jenny is an eSports author at EssentiallySports since January 2021. She started as a competitive player, and found her joy in not restricting to just one title. She grew up around various popular PUBG and Call of Duty streamers, discovering her love for both titles.

Sony Reveals Reasons for PS5 Crisis- Primarily Blames Scarcity of Processors

What led to Sony facing the PS5 crisis?

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