Sony has cut its expectations for PlayStation 5 production by four million units and now expects to manufacture about 11 million units by the end of March, according to a new Bloomberg report. Bloomberg had previously reported that Sony planned to boost production to around 10 million units by the end of December, but now says that the company has run into manufacturing problems.
The PS5’s system-on-a-chip, its core processing component designed by AMD, is said to be a particular issue with yields as low as 50 percent at one point, meaning that half the parts produced weren’t fit to ship. While that figure has been improving, according to Bloomberg, the yields are “yet to reach a stable level.”
The revised figure is still well above what Sony was said to have been originally planning for the PS5 launch. As of this April, Sony was reportedly expecting to produce five to six million consoles by the end of March, which would have been fewer than it made for the PS4 launch in 2013. The COVID-19 pandemic, however, caused the company to sharply increase its forecasts as the gaming industry boomed in popularity.
Sony is holding an online PS5 event on Wednesday where it is likely to reveal the final price and release date for the console, which comes in two variants: one with a disc drive and one without. Until that pricing information is confirmed, it’ll be hard to speculate on whether Sony will have enough supply to meet demand.
