Sony to Continue Producing PS4 Consoles Due to PS5 Shortages: Bloomberg

Sony will continue making its previous-generation PlayStation 4 console through the end of 2022 to make up for limited PlayStation 5 availability.

Sony had hoped to quickly transition away from the hugely successful PlayStation 4 following the release of the PlayStation 5. However, the worldwide semiconductor shortage has thrown a wrench in its plans.

Now, Bloomberg reports that Sony has told its manufacturing partners to keep assembling PlayStation 4 consoles, as a response to the ongoing scarcity of the newer PlayStation 5, which launched in November 2020.

Citing unnamed sources familiar with Sony’s plans, the publication said the company had planned to stop making the PlayStation 4 at the end of 2021. Instead, it will continue producing about a million units in 2022, to alleviate the strain coming from manufacturing and shipping the PS5.

Continued PS4 manufacture also appears to be a quid pro quo assisting the company’s relationship with production partners. Bloomberg‘s sources said that doing more business with a cheaper-to-produce console would give Sony a little more room to negotiate deals with these partners.

The PS5’s demand has continued to remain high throughout the console’s first year — every time PS5s are in stock, they are sold out almost immediately. While some customers decide to spend more than the maximum retail price buying it through scalpers, others are waiting to purchase the console at retail price.

PS4 is one of the best-selling video game consoles of all time, and will likely remain in demand until PS5 is more easily available. While Sony naturally wants customers to upgrade to a PS5, but it’s difficult to do so in the current scenario.