In November 2020, the new PlayStation 5 was released, but many still have not received a console or are still waiting for delivery. However, there should be a larger supply in 2021, reports the technology site Digitimes.
How did the PS5 release go? Anyone wanting to get the next-gen console in 2020 needed a lot of time, patience, and a bit of luck. The pre-order process was chaotic. The first sales wave started far too early and even in the following waves, the PS5 was quickly sold out.
Particularly frustrating is that many managed to get a console from retailers, but they did not have enough consoles in stock.
- Otto canceled some purchases, causing many disappointments
- At MediaMarkt and Saturn, shipping only progressed slowly. Consoles were repeatedly delivered in waves. However, according to Gameswirtschaft, some customers still do not have a delivery date, but they do receive 3 months of PS Plus for free.
In addition to the inventory issue, there was another reason for the sales problems. The console became a target for so-called scalpers, who bought a PS5 and then tried to resell it at a higher price.
What’s next in 2021? So far, there has been no official statement about when exactly the next consoles will be sold. However, the technology and research website Digitimes brings hope in a new report.
According to reports, Sony plans to produce 16.8 to 18 million new PS5 consoles in 2021. That would be a high figure and would likely surpass the supply for 2020.
PS5 is said to have sold 3.4 million units so far
How many PS5s have been sold so far? So far, it is not known how many consoles were sold in 2020. Official figures have not yet been released.
However, Digitimes has spoken with suppliers and estimates about 3.4 million consoles sold.
Insiders revealed as early as 2020 that Sony wanted to have about 5 million consoles available for the release.
Is 18 million new consoles a lot? If the figures from Digitimes are confirmed, then many fans should be able to get a PS5 in 2021. However, the stocks will still not be overly large.
- The PS4 sold about 18.5 million units worldwide in 2014 (via VentureBeat).
- Earlier, 4.2 million units were sold at launch in 2013 (ExtremeTech).
This means that there will be slightly fewer PS5 consoles in the first year than the PS4 sold about 7 years ago. Although it should be easier to get a PS5 in 2021, there may still be shortages.
However, all the pre-order actions also brought forth touching stories. One father sat down with a total of 8 devices and tried for 13 hours to get a PS5 for his son – and he succeeded:
