Ever since the launch of the next generation of gaming, Sony and Microsoft fans have struggled to secure their very own unit of both the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X and S models. While Microsoft has dealt better with the shortage in materials and various technologies due to the pandemic, Sony has struggled more with getting their PlayStation 5’s out to the gaming world. Its delays are projected to reach even worse circumstances, according to reports by various reputable sources.
According to Gaming Bolt, the PlayStation 5’s shortages in supply have been rising the day the console was released in 2020. A collection of issues ranging from obviously high demand and anticipation, supply factories and lines being impacted by the effects of COVID-19, greedy scalpers buying up all the consoles to sell at absorbent markups, and an overall, worldwide shortage of technologies all contributed to ongoing stocking problems.
What has Sony said about this?
Sony tried to affirm with fans of the PlayStation brand that their supply would not dry up and they would be able to secure a PlayStation 5 unit in due time. Unfortunately, Sony’s CFO Hiroki Totoki urged that even if they could produce more, they would undoubtedly fall well below the demand of the popular console. Bloomberg’s report furthers that Sony doesn’t expect demand for the console to go down any time this year. It’s safe to say that anyone anywhere near the gaming didn’t have to attend an oversized suit-and-tie meeting with a slew of analysts and clipboards to tell you that.
How is Sony handling the PS5 shortage?
There have been some ideas about what Sony is going to do about PlayStation 5 shortages in the coming years. However, CFO Totoki continued his thoughts about their concerns. He suggested that Sony should find a workaround for these issues.
Semiconductor Shortage
CFO Totoki talked about the shortage of semiconductor chips and how that is a huge reason they are short on supplying PlayStation 5’s to the demanding community. His idea would be that the company search for readily available alternatives in the presence of this massive shortage. The big problem with that by fans would be the performance not matching up with current models.
Typically, when you purchase a console, you assume that every version of that console is the same unless the creator announces model changes. For example, the PlayStation Portable, or PSP for short, saw nearly five different models in its lifetime. Their differences were subtle, and you wouldn’t know it was different unless you owned an older one yourself. Still, with each update in hardware, there is usually an adjustment to the price or even the machine’s aesthetic.
PlayStation 5 Design
Another possible solution would be to change the look of the PlayStation 5. People who have the current model are aware of its awkward design. However, players and fans of Sony have warmed up to the idea (the power and performance of the machine made it easy). Changing the PlayStation 5’s design would be a great way to lower or modify the materials needed to make a functional console.
The exciting thing about this information is usually, a “slim” model of a console doesn’t usually come out until about three to four years after the original machine has been released. PlayStation 5 has been out for less than a year, and they are already looking at changing the console model. This will get them back ahead of competitors in terms of the media and investors, but there’s a bit of a “space race” when it comes to dropping consoles. This seems like a reasonable option, but only time will tell how this affects their position in the gaming market.
What can I do about obtaining a PlayStation 5?
There is nothing you can do at the moment. At least, there is nothing LOGICAL you can do as there are ways to get a copy. However, they might not be ideal in this current climate, but you will want to avoid getting a PlayStation 5 as much as possible. Here are a few reasons why.
High Demand
When something is in high demand, you want to be careful when purchasing these consoles. Specifically, you want to be 100% sure that the PlayStation 5 you order is purchased on a reputable site. There are tons of sites out there looking for thirsty Sony fans who are vulnerable to being scammed.
If you see a PlayStation 5 available on sketchy sites or ones that you’ve never heard of, click away. Most of the time, it’s a fake advertisement looking to steal parts of your identity or straight up steal your money. It costs nothing to start a site, so they don’t care if angry customers report them because, by the time they get taken down, they’ve already taken from hundreds if not thousands of excited PlayStation 5 fans.
Also, the PlayStation 5 is in such high demand that you should already be concerned about its legitimacy when you see one for sale. People are either selling it because there is something wrong with it or selling it at a ridiculously marked-up price.
Scalpers
Speaking of marked-up prices, every time a new console comes out, some people have bots set up to order all available units. The reason they do this is so that later on down the line when the supply inevitably rises, they can get in front of the buyer and sell the units they’ve procured. The only problem is there is never any practical intent with these people, and they almost always want you to pay more.
Unfortunately, it’s never fifty dollars more or even a hundred dollars more. It’s usually a $500 thing being market up by 200%. The sad part is that people still buy them, which makes this a great way to make money in front of any major tech launch. We’ve seen this tactic stretch beyond the gaming industry, but video game launches are among the most prominent tech launches in the world, so we see it happen time and time again.
Be patient
We know that you want your PlayStation 5 now; however, analysts and CFO Totoki himself believe that there won’t be another consistent push of PlayStation 5’s until sometime in 2022. We’ve never seen that type of delay in a long time, but it makes sense due to this world’s current climate.
The best thing you can do is to be patient. We don’t know what it will take for you to get to a stage where you can accept this reality, but by the time the PlayStation 5’s stock is normalized again, it might not even look like or cost what it does today. Just enjoy what you have now, or play some Halo or Gears of War.
Do you have a PlayStation 5?
Were you being lucky enough to get the PlayStation 5? If so, let us know what your favourite games to play are.
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Staff writer