While demand for the PlayStation 5 remains quite high, the console is underperforming its predecessor PS4 in several regions, including the UK and Japan. According to industry analyst @BenjiSales, it appears that the reason for this is that Sony is failing to meet demand for more supply. In a follow-up tweet, the analyst says that there is still no information for all regions and it is possible that things will be different in some territories. Still, given some of the ambitious goals that Sony cited before the console’s launch, it appears that there are problems on the production side that prevent the system’s momentum.
The Tweet from @BenjiSales can be found embedded below.
Despite a record-breaking global debut, the PlayStation 5 is now selling more slowly than the PS4 was launched, aligned across multiple markets (for example, Japan and the UK)
Sony has said it wants the fastest transition in history and the demand is huge. Need to find a way to speed up production
– Benji-Sales (@BenjiSales) January 11, 2021
In October, Sony CFO Hiroki Totoki stated that the company planned to ship 7.6 million PS5 consoles by March 2021. This number is significantly higher than the 6 million PS4 units that the company sold in a similar period of time. . With the system underperforming the PS4 in some regions, it will be interesting to see if Sony can make up for lost time!
These supply problems can be a major problem for Sony. If they continue until 2021, this could hurt overall console sales and convince players to look for alternative options. Analysts are divided over whether or not the PS5 can outperform its predecessor. Last June, Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis predicted that the PS5 would not be able to sell as many units as the PS4, and predicted the same for the Xbox Series X over the Xbox One. However, Japanese analyst Rakuten Securities believes that sales lifespan of the PS5 can exceed 200 million, which would be almost double the PS4.
Despite this shaky start, it seems that Sony remains optimistic about the future. During today’s CES presentation, the company again cited the fact that the PS5 had the biggest release for any Sony console. However, it remains to be seen whether this success will continue or not.
Do you think the PS5’s lifetime sales will eclipse the PS4? Have you managed to find a console yet? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter at @Marcdachamp to talk about all things about games!