UPDATE: It seems the report from Bloomberg may be incorrect. In a statement to GamesIndustry.biz, Sony has denied the report.
“While we do not release details related to manufacturing, the information provided by Bloomberg is false,” the statement reads. “We have not changed the production number for PlayStation 5 since the start of mass production.”
We’ll report more as it becomes available.
Bloomberg reports that Sony has slashed its production on Playstation 5 units by four million units for the fiscal year, bringing the total to 11 million, due to production issues with the chip powering the console.
In July, Sony had accelerated orders via suppliers to get ahead of the demand that would occur this holiday season but with the ongoing pandemic, this has been harder than anticipated. Not being able to produce the custom chip means that Sony is hitting a production yield of 50%, this means that Sony must slow down on producing consoles, effectively dropping numbers by four million consoles.
We’ve seen the news also hit Sony’s shares as the forecast shows a 3.5% drop after the news went public.
Sony has another hurdle to face before launching this Holiday 2020 season, as Microsoft has pulled back the curtain on pricing for the newly announced Xbox Series S and the Xbox Series X. Microsoft’s pricing is competitive and offers consumers two options at launch, while Sony hasn’t delivered a price point with less than two months to go before releasing to the consumer.
Sony has a new showcase set for tomorrow, and many expect to see a price at the event.
