Sony boss promises PlayStation 5 will be easier to get your hands on throughout the year
Retail store websites display queue numbers of over 128,000 and “out of stock” holding pages as the PS5 goes on sale in the UK in November (Getty)
Sony boss Jim Ryan claims that stock of its PlayStation 5 (PS5) console will increase month-on-month throughout 2021.
In an interview with GQ, the president and chief executive officer of Sony Interactive Entertainment discussed the issue of PlayStation 5 stock and apologised for the current shortage.
“All I can say is we’re working as hard as we possibly can,” he said. “I know there were people who wanted a PS5 and couldn’t find one. We’re very sorry about that and obviously grateful that demand has been as strong as it is.”
The PS5 is the hottest gadget of the moment, but gamers are finding it near impossible to buy the console. New stock is added to specific retailers intermittently and is then sold out within minutes.
Ryan cites difficulties with the supply chain and “difficulties in the semiconductor market” as key problems.
“We had to move to a distribution model that is entirely online and that’s something that we never had to do before. And, finally, just the level of demand for PS5. So, you know, all of those things kind of combined.”
The COVID-19 pandemic has had a major impact on the console’s release, not only affecting Sony’s distribution model but in raising demand from consumers in need of entertainment at home.
The exec refused to put a date on when production will increase, but he’s confident that stock numbers will improve throughout the year as the company has been “relentless in terms of trying to increase production”.
“We’re working as we always have, but with renewed vigour and energy post Christmas to get supply up, it will increase as each month passes,” he said.
“”We’re doing our best. I was just looking at the supply figures for the UK – we put a considerable amount of product into the UK market last week. And that will continue over weeks and months to come.”
On top of PS5 stock numbers, Sony has also come under fire for controller drift in its DualSense controllers, with a class action lawsuit recently filed against them.
For those lucky enough to own the console, we’ve recommended the PS4 games you should play on the new console.
