TAMPA, Fla. (WFLA) — The holidays are here and everyone wants to find the perfect gift, or at least one they know their loved ones want.
For Florida, a survey of shopping demand for different products by Rakuten showed the PlayStation 5 gaming console is the most wanted item.
However, in some areas, the console is still hard to find. During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sony reported issues with the supply chain, particularly with its semiconductor chips. Without the chips, which are essentially the brains of the console, the number of PlayStations that could be produced were limited.
In August, Sony said their production outlook was improving, with their July earnings report saying its supply of the hardware would increase in the second half of 2022.
“At this point in time, we have made no change to our 18 million unit sales forecast for PS5 hardware in FY22,” the earnings report said. “But since we are seeing a recovery from the impact of the lockdown in Shanghai and a significant improvement in the supply of components, we are working to bring forward more supply into the year-end holiday selling season.”
Their follow-up report in November said they were expecting more than in July.
“Sales are expected to be higher than the July forecast due to the impact of foreign exchange rates as well as an expected increase in hardware sales due to price revisions for PlayStation 5 hardware, partially offset by an expected decrease in sales of non-first-party titles including add-on content.”
Demand for the PlayStation isn’t exclusive to Florida. According to the Rakuten survey, Delaware, Texas, and Utah also had the PS5 as their most wanted items for the holidays, but across the country, “Sony’s PlayStation 5 is the most in-demand Christmas gift in America with 13 states, including Florida, searching to buy the item ahead of Christmas more than any other item.”
Analyst David Gibson, of MST Financial, released figures in June via a Twitter post that showed Sony’s PS5 shipments in September were 400% higher than in 2021, showing an increase in production, or at least availability.
While the overall outlook in the short term is still somewhat unclear, Jim Ryan, the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, gave recent statements at the PlayStation Partner Awards that said some supply issues may be solved, as reported on the Japanese PlayStation Blog site.
“We would like to report that we have resolved the long-term supply issue of the PlayStation 5,” Ryan said in part. His statements were predominantly focused on the Japanese and Asian markets, but if the supply issue is solved there, it’s possible the overall impact could be seen across the company’s global supply as well.
