Sony and Nintendo Videogame Machines To Be in Short Supply Again This Year

Sony and Nintendo said their flagship videogame machines are likely to be in short supply all year owing to component shortages, extending a problem that has plagued both companies. From a report: "There's no end in sight to the semiconductor shortage at this point," said Nintendo's president, Shuntaro Furukawa. Sony's chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, said the company aimed to sell 18 million units of its PlayStation 5 videogame console in the current fiscal year, which ends in March 2023, down from a previous projection of 22.6 million. Demand is greater than what Sony can supply, he said.

Among other problems, Mr. Totoki cited Covid-19 restrictions in China, including a lockdown in Shanghai, that have made it hard for companies there to manufacture and ship parts used in game machines. "It would be likely to affect our production if the pandemic situation in China worsens, or if the lockdown expands further," he said. The PlayStation 5 has been notoriously hard to get hold of since its introduction in 2020. In the fiscal year ended March 2022, Sony said it sold 11.5 million units of the machine, falling short of the previous target of 14.8 million.

Re:

[OrangeTide]

Semiconductor shortages means ramping up a large enough market for gamers is nigh impossible. We might see a shift in the opposite direction, where new generations come less frequently and more focus is put on the online side of the business.

Long term, I suspect more people will be pushed into mobile devices and PC gaming. Where things are either cheap as chips on mobile, or on PC where you can replace your hardware at a frequency you can afford but also keep your old game library running for decades.

Re:

[jonwil]

It doesn't help things that the main chips in the current XBOX and PlayStation are basically PC parts (the CPUs are custom AMD APUs, the memory is the same GDDR6 that is on basically every GPU and the storage is the same flash memory that's in your PC SSD) and that the production of XBOX and PlayStation chips is done on production lines that also produce PC chips.

Re:

[bloodhawk]

Actually it is the reverse, it actually helps significantly. Their are very few fabs capable of churning out the tech required, the more consistent and generic they are the better the supply will be.

Re:

[Z00L00K]

That might be right, but before they are up to speed then prioritize the customers that actually would benefit the most from this. Gaming consoles should go last in line for deliveries when there's a shortage.

Re:

[bloodhawk]

They are businesses, they prioritize whoever pays the most or as I understand it for many of the fabs it is who got the orders in first.

Re:

[Anonymous Coward]

The PS5 only came out a year and a half ago. Even when they eventually work on the PS6, it will be years out before released, and they still would have to make semiconductors for that.

Re:

[Opportunist]

It did?

Did anyone ever get one?

Re: At this point, fuck it.

[OrangeTide]

I know a guy who once visited a room where a PS5 was kept. Amazing time to be alive.

Re:

[bloodhawk]

around 20 million have gotten one so far.

Re:

[Opportunist]

Or more accurately, about 20 scalpers got them.

Re:

[CronoCloud]

Yeah, in late November of 2020, a bunch were just sitting in the case at the local enormo-mart.
That said, that was the LAST time I've seen them "in the wild"
Don't seen many PS4's either, the cases that would have PS4's/PS5's are full of headsets. Nintendo Switches have been in short supply at times too. I've only just started seeing the OLED model starting last month.

Re:

[thegarbz]

Shut it down an move to the next gen. Probably never get their R&D costs back on this one.

This is the dumbest comment I've heard. R&D costs are sunk. Why would you invest in more R&D instead of focusing on producing something that people are actively lining up to pay you for, all the while not actually solving the supply problem in any way?

They couldn't have engineered it any better.

[mmell]

This time, they don't even have to answer any pesky questions like "why was your supply so much lower than your predicted demand when you launched your product?"

Re:

[thegarbz]

It's a stupid question in any case. Why would you delay launch simply because demand is higher than units you've pre-manufactured.

Re:

[ma1wrbu5tr]

Lol. Flamebait. But it's true. and Epstein didn't kill himself.

Re:

[diffract]

4chan is that way ->

Re:

[ma1wrbu5tr]

Still true.

Re:GO OUTSIDE YOU FCUKERS!

[Opportunist]

Covid is over?

Do you know something that nobody else knows?

Re:

[thegarbz]

Not sure what you're on about. Are you saying that COVID doesn't exist and Shanghai lockdowns are a myth? Are you saying people shouldn't entertain themselves with video games? Are you suggesting video games existed only because of COVID? Are you suggesting here on Slashdot that people should go ... outside?

I really don't know what your post is about, but I do know it's incredibly stupid.

Re: GO OUTSIDE YOU FCUKERS!

[OrangeTide]

The real world can get fucked.

11mil shipped, 17 mil sold - someone's lying

[shibbie]

11 million sold? 17 million were shipped apparently. https://www.videogameschronicl... [videogameschronicle.com]

Somehow, I'm not surprised.

[TronNerd82]

The PS5 has been pretty much a failure due to its constant short supply. I predict that we really won't start seeing it at your local GameStop or Walmart for at least 2 years. By then Sony will have pulled their heads out of their asses and have the common sense to sell more of them at a better price. Until then, I'm gonna patiently sit right here playing Driver on my fat PlayStation from 1997.

Re: Somehow, I'm not surprised.

[bennini]

This doesnâ(TM)t make sense. How would a lower price make any difference when theyâ(TM)re consistently sold out at their full msrp or higher? The sales projections are not being met due to inability to produce enough to meet demand.