Sony wants to keep producing PS4s due to PS5 supply shortages

PS4 consoles production increase this year

Because of the PS5 supply shortage, Sony has stated that they will continue to produce the PS4.

Sony announced that they will continue to produce PlayStation 4 consoles until 2022 and that they will add approximately a million PS4 devices this year to help balance off some of the demand of PS5 manufacturing.

Sony has planned to continue producing PlayStation 4 systems in 2022, despite the fact that the company's flagship PS5 has been in short supply. Previously, though it was never formally declared, Sony apparently planned to discontinue production of older versions of the console. However, a Sony spokesman revealed that the company will create a million PS4 consoles this year to help balance off some of the demand on PS5 supply issues.

According to a new Bloomberg article, the company had planned to stop creating PS4 consoles last year but has now notified assembly partners that it will continue making the console until 2022.

The reports claimed, the decision will result in the manufacturing of nearly 1 million PS4 consoles this year, reducing some of the pressure on PlayStation 5 production, which requires more modern CPUs.

Sony spokesman told PS4 supply would continue this year: "It is one of the best-selling consoles ever, and there is usually crossover between generations."

After releasing PS4 in 2013 has sold over 116 million copies.

In July, Sony announced that the PS5 had become its fastest-selling system ever, with global sales exceeding 10 million in less than a month, a month quicker than the PS4. However, it has since fallen behind its successor in terms of sales.

PS5 supply chain & issues

Sony has struggled to create and distribute enough PS5 consoles to meet demand since its November 2020 launch.

Unfortunately, after Sony reportedly reduced their production goals by about one million consoles, it was then rumored that PlayStation 5 availability could be lower than previously planned in the coming months.

Read More: PS4 9.03 Update Feature

During the financial results meeting in October, Sony's chief financial officer, Hiroki Totoki, stated that PS5 sales fell short of expectations in the first half of 2021. The first quarter's console sales were lower than the number of units, and this is hurting us, as well as the second quarter," he said.

But I believe that with our efforts and the implementation of various measures, the momentum of the PS platform can be maintained, particularly for users who are waiting for the PS5. We want to be able to supply as many PS5s as possible to our consumers who are waiting - that is our mindset."