PS5 restock nightmare set to continue as Sony cuts console production

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The global chip shortage strikes again

a photo of the PS5
(Image credit: Shutterstock)

As if buying a PS5 wasn’t hard enough already, it’s about to get even harder, all thanks to the ongoing global chip shortage, which is apparently seriously hampering Sony’s ability to produce consoles.

That’s according to a report from Bloomberg that claims Sony had internally predicted it would be assembling 16 million PS5 units between April 2021 and March 2022. Now that number has reportedly been reduced to 15 million. 

This isn’t a huge reduction, especially since Sony has publicly predicted that it would sell 14.8 million PS5 consoles over the current financial year. But it’s indicative of a larger problem facing the tech industry, with multiple high-profile companies cutting production or sales targets as a result of the ongoing supply chain issues.

Apple has already had to cut production of the iPhone 13, despite the significantly high demand for its latest phone. Likewise Nintendo had to cut its Switch sales forecast by 1.5 million units, and Valve has had to delay the handheld Steam Deck for two months. All because of component shortages.

According to Bloomberg Sony has been struggling with logistical issues and part shortages — something that’s all too common in the tech industry right now. While a big part of the ongoing chip shortage is a lack of production capacity, Sony is also said to be affected by “uneven” vaccine distribution in the countries where suppliers produce components.

Sadly, it sounds like stock is going to be pretty hard to come by for the immediate future. Sony has apparently forecast 22.6 million PS5 sales for the 2022 financial year, but the company’s manufacturing partners are reportedly concerned that this target will be difficult to meet.

People still hoping to win the PS5 restock game will no doubt be disappointed or frustrated at this news, especially since scalping is still a huge issue. At the time of writing there are eBay listings asking for significantly more than the PS5’s MSRP, including auctions with a few dozen bids.

Unfortunately, not all of the blame lies with Sony and component shortages. The PS5 has been difficult to come by since it first launched last year, with scalpers using bots to buy up all the available stock before legitimate buyers can get one for themselves.

And so far online retailers have done a pretty poor job of trying to make it fair for everyone. Whether it’s seemingly not doing much about the scalper issue, or situations like recent Walmart restocks where tech issues and glitches prevented users from actually completing their orders. 

So until the retailers get their act together, it doesn’t really matter how much stock Sony is able to produce. Luck-based lottery systems have helped, but they’re far from universally implemented.

Tom Pritchard
Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.