PS5
The limited stocks of PS5 are pushing users to migrate to PC in order to enjoy a next-gen gaming experience instead of the other way around, which is the strategy Sony is aiming for in bringing its exclusives to Steam.The figure, confided to Bloomberg by the spokesperson of a large Japanese publisher who nevertheless did not want his name to be mentioned, expresses some frustration with the market trend and the cut in PS5 production.
" One of the largest Japanese publishers has found that gamers who used to buy PlayStation versions of their titles are gradually switching to PC, "the article reads.
In practice, exactly the opposite is happening. that Sony is trying to do with its strategy, which consists in bringing the PlayStation exclusives to PC in order to attract new users within its ecosystem.
If the trend is the one indicated by the publisher already apponese, until the question of the availability of PS5 is resolved we could in short see a change in the current balance, although in reality even the Windows platform has its problems with RTX cards that are punctually unavailable.
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Somehow, PS5 Shortages Are About To Get Even Worse
(Photo by Olly Curtis/Future Publishing via Getty Images)
Future Publishing via Getty ImagesTrying to buy a next-generation console this holiday season is borderline impossible, as instant sellouts of the PS5, Xbox Series X and S have continued for a full year after the release of the hardware. Sony was on pace to have a record year for the PS5, but supply shortages have caused it to fall behind the pace of the PS4, and now, it’s apparently only going to get worse.
Bloomberg is reporting that Sony will have to cut its forecast for the fiscal year ending in March where previously they said they would manufacture 16 million PS5s. According to Bloomberg’s sources, that’s now been cut by a full million, down to 15 million. Sony has yet to comment publicly.
It’s no secret that Sony has been struggling to meet demand with supply by a wide margin, and as ever, it comes down to global chip shortages that have upended many industries, but video game console manufacturing in particular.
One interesting excerpt from the article is that PS5 shortages are so bad, some publishers are noticing many players are simply turning to PC copies of their games instead:
“Frustration around Sony’s limited inventory is growing among game makers as well as fans of the console. One top Japanese game publisher has found players who used to buy PlayStation versions of its games are now gradually shifting to purchasing the PC edition, said an executive who asked not to be named. PlayStation 5 games have so far failed to make an impact on Japanese sales charts, which are dominated by Nintendo’s Switch platform, data from market tracker Famitsu show.”
PS5
Best BuyIn many ways, it’s only become harder to get a PS5 over the course of the past year, something we’ve never seen to this extent in the history of video game console release cycles. At least in 2020, there was a pre-order process that did secure a large number of consoles for players up front. But since then, the entirety of the PS5 rollout has been a drip feed of units from random retailers at random times with often broken or crashing websites and stock ravaged by scalper bots. It’s unclear what the full demand for the PS5 could have been without these issues, but it’s easy to imagine Sony could have destroyed every old record they had if that was the case. Instead, they’re enduring the worst supply constraint the industry has ever seen.
Microsoft is not faring much better. Reportedly, Microsoft was keeping some stock aside to try and fill demand over the holiday, but getting a Series X has not been much easier than getting a PS5. Microsoft, at least, launches its first party games on the cloud and on PC simultaneously with its consoles, which Sony does not. But many players have had to play third party games on PC they would have played on PS5 otherwise, or releases on the PS4 they already own, as nearly everything (short of exceptions like Ratchet and Clank) is launching on both generations.
Sony does not even have a massive exclusive title coming this holiday season after Horizon Forbidden West was delayed until 2022, but that simply doesn’t matter at all for PS5 demand in its current state, and things are going to get worse before they get better. And they may not get better for another full year, at least.
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