Don’t expect to get your hands on a PlayStation 5 anytime soon.
Sony reportedly has warned analysts that supplies of the console will be tight through 2022. Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki said at a recent briefing that supply won’t be able to keep up with demand for the foreseeable future, Bloomberg reported.
It’s been so hard to get a new console in recent months that users have resorted to paying scalpers and spending hours perusing retailers’ websites. The PlayStation 5 launched last November, starting at $399 for PS5 Digital Edition and $499 for PS5 with Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive.
The lack of consoles is caused by a shortage of computer chips affecting many industries, experts say.
“The global pandemic caused a demand spike in electronics goods as workers moved to remote methods,” James Prior, head of global communications at semiconductor company SiFive, said in an email interview.
“The increased demands on internet-provided services caused service providers to scale up both compute capacity and infrastructure technology to support the demand. At the same time, delays in shipping and transportation slowed down resupply for on-shelf items, as well as materials for manufacturing.”
The semiconductor shortage has severely impacted the availability of products that rely on microprocessor chips, Nir Kshetri, a business professor at the University of North Carolina at Greensboro, said in an email interview.
The current shortfall has been especially pronounced in less-advanced chips as the world’s biggest semiconductor players have been focusing on cutting-edge chips that give higher margins.
There are 169 industries in the US that use semiconductors in their products, including phones, entertainment consoles, TVs, cars, and kitchen appliances, such as microwaves, refrigerators, and washing machines powered by simple processors, he said.
“All these products, just like PS5, are increasingly difficult to find and cost more,” Kshetri added. “The current shortfall has been especially pronounced in less-advanced chips, as the world’s biggest semiconductor players have been focusing on cutting-edge chips that give higher margins.”
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