Sony is seemingly much more positive about the demand for PS5 this year and beyond. According to a Bloomberg report, the platform holder is ramping up production with the goal of making 10 million units before the end of the year. This follows a report back in April that suggested Sony was expecting to sell fewer units of PS5 at launch compared to PS4. At the time, it was believed that Sony was aiming for 5 to 6 million units before the end of March 2021. This massive boost is in part the result of Sony’s updated outlook on the demand for gaming in the post-coronavirus world. Sony also anticipates that logistical challenges could end up delaying shipments, and the company wants to avoid the Switch stock shortage Nintendo struggled with for many months this year.
Mass production of PS5 began in June, and Bloomberg says around 5 million of that 10M initial bloc is expected to be done by September. This first batch will supply the allotment at launch and into the holidays. The other 5 million will be finished between October and December, meaning they’ll end up at retailers in the first quarter of 2021. By comparison, 4.5 million PS4 units were shipped to retailers in 2013, and it took until June 2014 for that figure to reach 10 million. Assuming there’s enough demand to justify this increase in production, PS5 sales may be stronger out of the gate compared to PS4. Indeed, consumer sentiment around PS5 has been positive since the start, and was only boosted by last month’s PS5 games showcase. Without knowing the price, however, it’s hard to accurately estimate how well the console is going to sell.
