Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has admitted there’s currently no end in sight to the PS5 supply issues that have frustrated fans since the console’s November 2020 launch.
Despite a global chip shortage,PlayStation’s boss said on Wednesday that the company has managed to produce and sell a record number of PS5 consoles.
However, overwhelming demand for the console means PS5 won’t be readily available for some time yet.
“We’ve built more PlayStations faster than we ever have before which makes me happy. But on the other hand, we’re some time from being able to meet all the demand that’s out there, which makes me feel bad,” Ryan toldReuters.
“Our partners are performing really well for us, but the chip shortage is definitely a challenge that we are all navigating.”
In a separateFamitsuinterview, Ryan was asked if he thinks PS5 availability will improve by the end of this year.
“We know that it’s still difficult for gamers to get PS5, and we’re very sorry about that,” he responded.
“There are signs that things are loosening up a bit, but we still have a lot of work to do.”
Sonyclaimed on Wednesday thatPS5 has become its fastest selling console everafter topping 10 million sales globally.
The console reached the milestone in mid-July, about eight months after its launch, and just under a month faster than thePS4managed.
“While PS5 has reached more households faster than any of our previous consoles, we still have a lot of work ahead of us as demand for PS5 continues to outstrip supply,” Ryan said.
“I want gamers to know that while we continue to face unique challenges throughout the world that affect our industry and many others, improving inventory levels remains a top priority for SIE.”
Further reading
During an analyst briefing in May, Sony reportedly told attendees that itexpects PS5 consoles to be in short supply until at least 2022.
“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 thePlayStation 5next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki said at the meeting, according toBloomberg.
Around the same time,PlayStation was offering a more hopeful outlook on PS5 supplyin its public statements. “We’re working as hard as we can to ameliorate that situation,” Ryan toldWiredin May.
“We see production ramping up over the summer and certainly into the second half of the year, and we would hope to see some sort of return to normality in terms of the balance between supply and demand during that period.”
