Still from ‘PlayStation 5 showcase [English]’. Image: PlayStation/YouTube
PlayStation boss Jim Ryan suggested that ‘not everybody who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day will be able to find one’.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 (PS5) is set to launch in the coming weeks and the company is anticipating high demand for the next-generation console.
“The demand as expressed by the level of pre-order has been very, very considerable,” Jim Ryan, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment, told Reuters.
He said that Sony pre-sold as many PS5 consoles in the first 12 hours in the US as in the first 12 weeks for the PlayStation 4.
“It may well be that not everybody who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day will be able to find one,” Ryan added, saying the company is “working as hard as we ever can” to ensure supply for the festive season.
In its latest quarterly earnings report, Sony said revenue and operating profit were up in its game and network services division compared to the same period last year. The number of subscribers to its online gaming platform PlayStation Plus rose to 45.9m.
Sony is also raising forecasts for its fiscal year due to an expected increase in game software sales and an increase in PlayStation Plus sales. It now expects its gaming division will post an annual profit of 300bn yen, up from the previously estimated 240bn yen.
The company added that there have been delays in the development of some third-party titles due to Covid-19 restrictions. However, it said that necessary measures are being taken so that “many strong titles” can be released in connection with the launch of the PS5.
Clash of the consoles
Key details of the PS5 were finally revealed last month. Sony confirmed that the console will hit shelves on 12 November in the US, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and South Korea, while the global roll-out will start on 19 November.
There will be a PS5 digital edition and a more expensive version with Blu-ray disc drive. These will both feature enhanced graphics, sound and feedback via a new controller. New titles will also be released including Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and a remake of Demon’s Souls.
Next month Microsoft is also launching its new next-generation console, the Xbox Series X, alongside a more budget-friendly Xbox Series S.
