you’re still looking for PS5 (No need to buy consoles from scalpers on auction sites)? Are you still refreshing the retailer page, slamming your F5 key against a nub, in a futile attempt to protect one of these precious machines when PS5 stock drops? Well, you are not the only one.And it’s so bad that Sony is reportedly making a comeback PS4 to alleviate some of the needs.
A new report from Bloomberg says Sony apparently plans to stop making the PS4 console in 2021, but recently told its manufacturing partners that it will keep making the console for a year (leading to buying an additional 1 million units by the end of 2022).
Sony did this to offset the pressure on PS5 production, which the company apparently couldn’t keep up with. The new generation is more technologically advanced and more complex than the PS4, and therefore more difficult to produce. By ramping up PS4 production, Sony hopes to improve deals with manufacturing partners, which in turn could help PS5 production in the long run, according to Bloomberg.
Despite the inventory issues, Sony has seen the PS5 be a huge success. Sony’s second-quarter 2021 earnings report shows that the PS5 has sold 13.4 million units since its November 2020 release.
In the second quarter of 2021 alone, 3.3 million PS5 units were sold, surpassing the previous quarter and matching sales in the last quarter of 2020. As such, the latest PlayStation machines still have plenty of momentum to tap into (despite the ongoing stock issues).
Back in 2020, Sony noted that the transition from PS4 to PS5 will take about three years. We can safely assume we’re pushing that estimate now, as production for the PS4 console will take longer than originally planned.
“After a period of time, we asked developers to develop on the premise of ‘cross-generation’ PS4 and PS5,” Sony said at the time. “Of course, we also need to improve the library to make it easier.”
We’ll have to wait and see if this new development means we’ll see cross-gen play for longer than originally planned.
