If you, like millions around the world, have been struggling to get hold of a PlayStation 5 since it launched in 2020, then your struggles may soon be at an end. Speaking at the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) 2023, Sony Interactive President Jim Ryan, said "everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward."
This (hopefully) marks the end of a long period of unavailability for Sony’s still quite new console. Availability for the console has been up and down since launching in 2020, and an investigation by Kotaku into the console at the end of last year found that PS5 units were slightly more available then than they were when the console first launched, but it wasn’t by much. Sony has been working hard to fix these issues, and claimed to have fixed the supply issues in Asian countries in December 2022. This statement hopefully means it’s fixed the problems worldwide, which would be a huge boon for the console’s sales.
These shortages have been a real problem for customers, who desperately want to get their hands on the latest and greatest Sony games console. As a result, that desperation has fueled a huge amount of predatory "scalper" sellers on sites like eBay. Those inflated prices are now closer to the console’s recommended retail price of $499, but they’re still way past what you should be paying. If Sony has fixed these problems, then that despicable cottage industry will be wiped out at a stroke.
The lack of available PlayStation 5 consoles is likely in large part to do with the massive international shortages of semiconductors, which have been plaguing the technology industry since 2020. While that shortage has been forecast to last until 2023, and maybe even 2024 in some forecasts, it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that Sony has been able to use its considerable heft to secure a supply for itself.
Either way, we’ll be keeping our fingers crossed that a steady supply of PlayStation 5 consoles will now be making its way to shops everywhere. After all, once demand drops, the sale prices do as well -- and that’s good for everyone.