PS5’s supply shortages emerged pretty much the day the console launched, and even before that with its pre-orders, and they haven’t really let up since then. A combination of high demand, supply lines being disrupted by the pandemic, and a global shortage of semiconductor chips has led to persisting supply issues. Sony has said previously (multiple times, in fact) that PS5’s supply issues will go on for little longer, even as recently as a couple of weeks ago.
Now, as Bloomberg reports, Sony’s chief financial officer Hiroki Totoki said in a briefing attended by a number of analysts that Sony doesn’t expect demand for the PS5 to go down any time this year, but even if they produce “many more” units of the console, they’re unlikely to meet demand.
“I don’t think demand is calming down this year and even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand,” Totoki said.
Recently, Totoki also suggested that Sony work around these issues by finding a secondary source for semiconductor chips, or by altering the PS5’s design. This was followed shortly afterward by production of a redesign for the console starting in late 2022.