While there’s still no release date for the next generation of gaming consoles, there has been no shortage of interest from consumers. There have been concerns that coronavirus may cause a delay in the release of the new consoles as studios attempt to source enough parts and meet production schedules. But it seems Sony intends to meet the holiday 2020 release window and is increasing the production order for its PlayStation 5 console in order to meet market demand.
The Summer of Gaming event in June was a huge success for Sony where the studio finally revealed the design for the new PlayStation 5 console and Dualshock controller. Sony is yet to reveal the price or release date for the new console but a solid lineup of exclusive games in development such as Spiderman: Miles Morales and Horizon Forbidden West has rapidly increased customer interest in buying the new PlayStation as soon as it is available.
A report from Bloomberg reveals that Sony is aiming to double its PlayStation 5 output in anticipation of a higher demand this holiday season due to coronavirus. With the pandemic forcing most of the population to stay inside for the foreseeable future, gaming across the board has seen a huge increase in popularity. Sony originally intended to produce 5 to 6 million PS5 consoles by March 2021. This has now rocketed to approximately 10 million units in the same amount of time.
Whether this will be achievable based on production and shipping schedules is uncertain, particularly with coronavirus impacting the workforce. Without a release date, it’s hard to tell if the studio will meet its required output for the first shipment in the holiday season, but it does seem that Sony intends to make the PS5 available for as many gamers as possible over the next year.
Since the pandemic began, Sony has been looking for ways to entertain those stuck at home, even starting a ‘Play At Home’ initiative which allowed players to download exclusives such as Uncharted and Journey for free on the PlayStation store. Increasing production of the next PlayStation is a big move by Sony to capture the current market, particularly with the Xbox Series X also poised to release this holiday season.
The PlayStation 5 is set to be released in Holiday 2020.
Source: Bloomberg
