The PlayStation 5 Is Almost 2 Years Old & You Still Can’t Buy It Normally
It was in November 2020 that Sony launched the PS5. While everyone in the gaming industry was hyped to get their hands on Sony’s newest console, not everyone was lucky enough to buy one. In fact, many of us still haven’t gotten our hands on the PS5.
Despite Sony selling the console online and offline, the quantities produced just aren’t enough for everyone. The reason? Well, for starters, the PS5 supply was disrupted thanks to the global semiconductor shortage. And the production was never enough to cater to all the demand for the PS5.
However, regardless of the shortage of the console’s supply, Sony reportedly sold around 11 million PS5s so far. Only to fall short of the aimed numbers, which stood at 14.8 million consoles. As Sony struggles to put the console on the market, the tech giant fears the supply won’t be enough to meet PS5’s demands.
Meanwhile, you can surely find many restock guides and where and how t buy guides on the PS5. Regardless, many of us still have had our hands on Sony’s latest console. For most, the Play Station 5 is nothing more than a dream at this point. As they wait for the restock of the PS5 console to come around on Amazon, Flipkart, Walmart, Best Buy, etc. However, if you happen to miss the restock by mere minutes, you have literally no chance of getting a console yourself.
Why can’t you buy the PS5 normally, still?
One, the global semiconductor shortage; two, scalpers; three, Covid19. Let us take a closer look at the reasons why many of us do not own a PS5, despite the console being almost 2 years old now.
While the shortage is not yet over, it is fading away, slowly. The shortage has done enough damage to the production and the ultimate supply of the PS5. Since chips are a key component in the production of a PS5 console, its production has taken a hit due.
The global semiconductor shortage is not just caused by a single factor but multiple ones. One of them is Cryptocurrency mining. This not only made devices like these, including Graphics Cards, which became difficult to find, in addition to being pricey way above the actual cost.
Another reason why many of us still do not own a PS5 console is scalpers. Not as big a problem as the semiconductor shortage, but a problem that can’t be overlooked. Ever since the release of the PS5, people have been hoarding the stock of the console and releasing them little by little at an inflated price. Sometimes these prices even went up to 1.5 times the cost of a new PS5. Resulting in lower units in the markets; and with little to no buyers for whatever units available, owing to the unnecessarily increased prices.
Coming to the third reason, we see that all this was brought about by the Covid19 pandemic. Which not only disrupted the production of semiconductors worldwide but also its supply chain. Cities in China were under complete lockdown where the components produced to make these products were manufactured. This further resulted in a situation where the supply of consoles couldn’t meet the demand.
Meanwhile, the situation seems to be getting better now; however, the PS5 is still not a console that you can buy in a store. While this will surely take some more time. However, taking in the factor that the global chip shortage is still not over fully, we can say that the situation will follow us into 2023.
