Sony Claimed It Will Keep Making PS4 due to PS5 Shortages

Sony has decided to keep producing PlayStation 4 consoles in 2022 as the company’s flagship PS5 has been in scarce supply. Previously, though it was never officially announced, Sony reportedly planned to stop making older versions of the console, however, a Sony spokesperson confirmed that the company is going to produce a million PS4 units this year to help balance out some of the pressure on the PS5 production.

According to the recent Bloomberg report, PS4 consoles are simpler in producing due to the use of less advanced chips, which "provides a budget-friendly alternative to the PS5". Increasing production, as Bloomberg’s sources note, will also provide Sony with better deals with manufacturing partners.

Sony pointed out that PS4 is "one of the best-selling consoles ever and there is always crossover between generations".

PlayStation 4 was released in 2013 and has sold over 116 million units since then. The PlayStation 5 console was released in November 2020. Sony's ambition with their flagman was to make a fast transition to the latest hardware, according to PlayStation chief Jim Ryan. However, since the launch, plenty of people have struggled to buy the console as Sony has had difficulties with producing and distributing enough units to meet demand.

During a financial results briefing in October Hiroki Totoki, Sony’s chief financial officer, admitted that PS5 sales in the first half of 2021 hadn’t fulfilled Sony’s expectations.“The hardware sales in the first quarter were less unit wise and so this is having an impact on us, and likewise for the second quarter,” he said. “But I think that with our efforts and putting in place different measures, the PS platform momentum can be maintained, and especially to the users who are waiting for the PS5, we want to be able to supply as many PS5s as possible to our customers who are waiting – that is our thinking.”

You can learn more about Sony's dealing with PS5 shortage here.  Also, don't forget to join our new Reddit page, our new Telegram channel, follow us on Instagram and Twitter, where we are sharing breakdowns, the latest news, awesome artworks, and more.