Sony has denied reports of extending PS4 console production due to a shortage of PS5 consoles.
A Bloomberg report earlier said that Sony initially planned to end PS4 production in 2021.
That’s not the case at all, Sony said, telling NLab that production and sales of the PS4 console are already planning to continue with the PS5.
By contrast, Microsoft stopped making the Xbox One S and Xbox One X consoles at the end of 2020. The company stopped production of the Xbox One X back in July 2020, but production of the Xbox One S continues until the end of the year.
Both the PS5 and Xbox Series X are currently hard to come by due to chip shortages and scalpers lining up to resell consoles for profit. Many retailers sell out consoles within minutes, sometimes seconds, of releasing them online. To crack down on dealers, many sites use sweepstakes, which can be quite frustrating.
As far as chip shortages are concerned, things appear to be improving, but a return to normality is not expected anytime soon.
The ongoing shortage of chips can be attributed to the closure of many factories during the COVID-19 pandemic. This has left the supply needed for chip manufacturing unavailable for months. The pandemic has also led to an increase in consumer demand for electronics, with companies overbooking orders and barely keeping up with demand as manufacturers return to work. We’re all aware of the lack of availability for the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 consoles, but chip shortages aren’t just affecting console and electronics production, car companies are taking a hit as well. This creates a trickle-down effect. Amid the shortage, prices for electronics with chips have risen, and as new-car production dwindled, more people were buying used cars — sending used car prices soaring.
Hopefully things will return to normal soon, but some estimate the shortage will continue at least until the third quarter of 2022. Some estimate the shortage will continue until 2023. Hopefully the former, after that, we should see more product availability.
