Sony is Increasing PS5 Console Production This Summer | Game Rant
According to Sony's CEO, gamers still trying to get their hands on a PlayStation 5 could be in luck, as the company is apparently increasing production for the system. Despite the console's widely reported shortages, the PlayStation 5 has already been a huge success for Sony, and that will likely continue as the product becomes more readily available.
Since its release in November 2020, the PlayStation 5 has been hard to obtain, which has frustrated many fans. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has addressed this problem in an interview, where he discussed the console's success and its shortages.
In an interview with Wired, Jim Ryan revealed the wealth of games in development for PlayStation 5 and addressed the ongoing stock shortages. Ryan revealed that Sony is increasing the console's production over this summer and expects that the PlayStation 5 will become more available to gamers. This will be welcomed news for PlayStation fans, as the inability to buy a PlayStation 5 has upset many of them.
The interview also stated that Sony is not engineering artificial scarcity, and Ryan says that the company is "working as hard as we can to ameliorate that situation." So, if all goes to plan, then maybe PlayStation 5's could be easier to buy soon, but it will take time for the new productions to reach the market. The increase in production does nothing to stop the other major factor in console shortages.
Since the new consoles came to market in 2020, they have been the target of well-organized scalping groups using bots to buy out stock before consumers can. The groups have used the scarcity to make money by selling the consoles at double market value. One site, in particular, has sold over 100,000 PlayStation 5's well above market value, and many others are seeing similar levels of success. Sony increasing production may ease the problem a little, but at this point, scalpers have made huge profits and can now afford to buy up even more stock to continue the shortage.
Scalping is becoming a massive problem across all retail industries, and while buying a PlayStation 5 from Sony requires a PlayStation Network account, this problem will continue until other retailers implement more restrictions. There are ways to counter this problem, for example, Microsoft is offering its consoles to Xbox Insider members first, and Sony could implement a similar system. However, if only a few sites offer protection from bots, those sites will be the first place consumers go to, increasing competition. Only an increase in production and online retailers restricting bots will truly put an end to these shortages.
The PlayStation 5 is available now.
Source: Wired.com
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