Sony reportedly cuts PS5 production by 4 million due to ‘chip woes’
Update: Sony has released a statement denying a Bloomberg report that the company has cut its PlayStation 5 production by 4 million.
“While we do not release details related to manufacturing, the information provided by Bloomberg is false," a statement sent to Gameindustry.biz reads. "We have not changed the production number for PlayStation 5 since the start of mass production."
Sony reportedly reduced its estimated PlayStation 5 production by four million due to manufacturing issues associated with the next-gen console’s custom designed system-on-chip.
Just a few days before the expected reveal of PlayStation 5’s price and release date, Bloomberg reported that the Tokyo-based electronics company is scaling-back the production of its next-gen console from 15 million to just 11 million for the next six months or until March 31, 2021.
Citing sources familiar with the matter, Bloomberg said that the reason behind the reduced production is related to the next-gen console’s chipset, which affected the company’s ability to produce “as many consoles as it wishes.” However, sources said that “yields have been gradually improving but have yet to reach a stable level.”
It was previously reported that the company was doubling the production of its PlayStation 5 to 10 million units in a bid to meet the increasing demand for gaming consoles spawned by the pandemic.
Although Sony's PlayStation 5 is expected to be in very limited supply during its launch, the console may be priced a tad bit cheaper than Microsoft’s next-gen console. According to the media outfit’s analyst Masahiro Wakasugi, the high-tier PlayStation 5 may be priced at $449 while its digital-only sibling may retail below $400. In comparison, the Xbox Series X has a price tag of $499 while the Xbox Series S will cost $299.
