PlayStation 5 Shortages Expected to Continue Throughout 2022 and Maybe Beyond

In a shocking turn of events, the PlayStation 5 continues to be unobtainable by most consumers as chip shortages and scalpers continue full-speed ahead.

The PlayStation 5 went from breaking Sony's record for the console that reached 10 million units sold fastest to selling fewer units than the PlayStation 4 had sold at this point in its launch. At the moment of writing, Sony's next-gen console has sold around 17.3 million units. Meanwhile, back when the PlayStation 4 was around a year and a month old (the same as the PlayStation 5 is right now), it had sold a whopping 20.2 million units.

Since the PlayStation 5 is being sold at a loss (with most of the profit recouping through games, subscriptions, and peripheral device sales), the supply issues have led to Sony's operating profits to rise by a total of 12%.

The issue remains due to the shortage of computer chips worldwide alongside the continued problem of massive purchasing of the console in order to sell it at a significantly inflated price by scalpers.

The unfortunate truth is that, despite the best efforts that are being made to stop these problems, they will likely continue come 2023. Since the computer chips deficiency continues, the PlayStation 5 shortage will possibly persist past the second half of 2022.

However, a government spokesperson has stated that they are currently speaking with trade associations to guarantee that the consumers would be protected from scalpers, similarly to the ban on automated purchases for ticketed events. Hopes are high for a proper solution to the scalper situation to come and that we may perhaps purchase consoles at a reasonable price soon.