Sony Exec Doesn’t Expect PS5 Supply to Improve Until 2023

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By Nathaniel Mott
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PlayStation woe

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(Image credit: Shutterstock)

Don’t expect it to get easier to find a PlayStation 5 any time soon. Bloomberg today reported that Sony doesn’t think it will be able to meet the demand for the console even if it manages to dramatically increase production throughout 2021 and 2022.

Sony announced in April that it had sold 7.8 million units of the PS5 just six months after it was released. Bloomberg said the company’s chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, briefed analysts on the console’s outlook shortly after that announcement.

“I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year,” Totoki reportedly said at the briefing, “our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand.”

Sony isn’t alone—it’s hard to name a company that hasn’t been affected by the global chip shortage. Nintendo’s similarly worried about being able to source parts for the Switch, for example, and even Apple’s supply has started to be constrained.

Combine those supply constraints with record-setting demand for the PS5, and it’s not hard to see why people have resorted to buying the console from scalpers, constantly keeping an eye out for restocks, and making offerings to forgotten gods to improve their luck. (Alright, that last one probably isn’t as common as the first two.)

Sony doesn’t seem to be resting on its laurels: The company is reportedly working on a redesigned PS5 featuring a new 6nm system-on-a-chip from AMD and TSMC that’s supposed to reduce both the cost of manufacturing the console and its lead time.

It’s not clear how much those changes would help consumers—there’s always the chance the reduced price would increase demand so much that the improved supply merely maintains the status quo rather than improving the console’s availability.

But at least the company is working on it… even if its own leadership doesn’t think the PS5’s going to be in ready supply until 2023. (At the earliest.) In the meantime, well, it might be worth looking into some of those eldritch rituals.

Nathaniel Mott
Nathaniel Mott
Freelance News & Features Writer

Nathaniel Mott is a freelance news and features writer for Tom's Hardware US, covering breaking news, security, and the silliest aspects of the tech industry.

8 Comments Comment from the forums
  • renz496
    we still in mid 2021 and they already expect the entire 2022 will be a though when it comes to supply?
    Reply
  • coloradoblah
    renz496 said:
    we still in mid 2021 and they already expect the entire 2022 will be a though when it comes to supply?
    Honestly they are probably being optimistic, the effects of the pandemic will prob linger for the next decade or so.
    Reply
  • InvalidError
    renz496 said:
    we still in mid 2021 and they already expect the entire 2022 will be a though when it comes to supply?
    I can't really say I'm surprised, especially with TSMC possibly having to shut down all of its Taiwan fabs due to water shortages this summer, which will set it back several months across the board. There is very little reason to expect chip supply to get significantly better until all of the new 2022-2023 fabs are up and running.

    With weather and other things being increasingly screwy around the world, who knows what the next major supply destabilization event will be. The whole world needs more supply diversity for stability.
    Reply
  • Eximo
    If we filled up a LNG tanker with distilled water (or distilled water on the way using LNG to power it)... Quick find me some investors!
    Reply
  • Heat_Fan89
    InvalidError said:
    With weather and other things being increasingly screwy around the world, who knows what the next major supply destabilization event will be. The whole world needs more supply diversity for stability.

    And the entire World needs to understand we live on a finite planet because this is exactly what happens when people think, things can just go on forever. History 101 has taught us that things DON’T go on forever.
    Reply
  • hannibal
    Yep… next year will be bad also so no wonder! And the current water shortage can really make the rest of this year really bad!
    luckily it seems that feisbeegolf season is getting better every day, so i can forget the computer for next three months ;)
    Reply
  • thisisaname
    Sony doesn’t seem to be resting on its laurels: The company is reportedly working on a redesigned PS5 featuring a new 6nm system-on-a-chip from AMD and TSMC that’s supposed to reduce both the cost of manufacturing the console and its lead time.

    It’s not clear how much those changes would help consumers—there’s always the chance the reduced price would increase demand so much that the improved supply merely maintains the status quo rather than improving the console’s availability.


    They are selling all they can make and you think if it is cheaper to manufacture they would drop the price. I like the idea but I think that is not going to happen.
    Reply
  • Heat_Fan89
    thisisaname said:
    They are selling all they can make and you think if it is cheaper to manufacture they would drop the price. I like the idea but I think that is not going to happen.
    Agreed! What typically happened in the past is that Sony and Microsoft would recoup some of their losses when the hardware became cheaper to produce. So even then they held to the original MSRP.

    A few years into the life-cycle is when you might see a temporary drop in the MSRP to spur new sales. The other sales tactic is to bundle a game or a theme based console at regular MSRP.

    Where you might find a good deal and that's prior to the Covid situation was for a retailer like Amazon to sell a bundle with a game with a $100 discount but that's usually during the Holidays. With the Covid situation and the lack of supply, I would not get my hopes of that happening either this year or next until there is more than enough supply in the retail channels.
    Reply