Jim Ryan’s interview by GQ is definitely one of the news of the day, the executive spoke of many aspects related to Sony. We already commented on the new games that will arrive on PC and the next gen version of PS VR that does not have a release date yet. But Ryan also talked about PS5 and its scarcity, as well as Play At Home.
The bad news is that even Ryan doesn’t venture to set a date for PS5 inventory normalization and production. He admits that it is a problem that has to do with the semiconductor industry and that basically all the industries that depend on these are facing the same problem.
“Obviously, in a pandemic, supply chains get a little more complicated than would normally be the case. You know, a very visible example is the difficulties in the semiconductor market. You know, whether it’s cars, smartphones, PCs, or game consoles, problems in all of those areas are widely documented. We had to switch to a completely online distribution model and that is something we have never had to do before. And finally, just the level of demand for PlayStation 5. So, you know, all those things a little bit combined. “
Production problems
The demand was such that Ryan confirmed the sale of 4.5 million consoles for December, which was 300,000 copies more than PS4 at launch. Ryan revealed that one in four of these buyers did not have a PS4 and that half of these were not part of the PlayStation Network, so we are talking about a little more than 10% of new users
The CEO says that each as the months go by, the stores will fill with consoles. “We have worked tirelessly trying to improve production, this is all I can say,” he said. When asked for a specific date, he preferred not to give it “we are doing the best we can.”
Recall that Lisa Su was talking about the end of the shortage, but she was talking about an improvement in the production chain for June, so then we would have to wait for that improvement to be reflected in inventories.
Games for everyone
On the other hand, Ryan talked about Play At Home and PlayStation Plus. Plans to launch games such as Destruction All Stars or Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout continue, that is, to release games by launching them on PS Plus. In addition, Play At Home returns with more free titles to support people in a difficult situation due to the pandemic.
A few months ago they gave away Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection and Journey and now it is the turn of the Ratchet and Clank remake, perfect to prepare for its new installment and 3 months free of Funimation. The bad news is that this service is not available in all countries, although Ratchet and Clank will be given away globally.
To get it, you will have to download it between March 1 and March 31. Ryan says this initiative is a cool way to relaunch games that have long been on the market, so they will continue to do so for a while.
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