Sony Makes A Big PlayStation 5 Production Decision

At the end of this year, Sony and Microsoft will launch new consoles, and at this point, it seems very likely that we'll still be grappling with the coronavirus pandemic when that happens. While you might think that a pandemic would decrease demand for new (and probably expensive) consoles, Sony is reportedly boosting its PlayStation 5 production, anticipating increased demand because of the pandemic.

That's according to Bloomberg, at any rate, which spoke to "people familiar" with Sony's plans. While Sony was previously aiming to produce 5 to 6 million units by the of March 2021, Bloomberg reports that the company now wants to produce as many as 10 million units by the end of the year.

Sony's motivation for doing so is apparently based in the concern that we'll see a second wave of coronavirus, which in turn would keep people home for longer and increase demand for in-home entertainment like gaming. Whether or not those who are stuck at home can afford a new console is another matter entirely, but Sony seems to think they'll be able to.

Of course, as Bloomberg notes, there's no guarantee that Sony will actually be able to sell all 10 million of these PlayStation 5s it's said to be producing. Shipping bottlenecks could prevent Sony from getting all of these consoles to shelves in time for the ever-important holiday shopping season, which means that many of the PlayStation 5s made during this production push might not be sold until next year.

We'll see what happens, but regardless of Sony's production plans, one thing is for sure: this is going to be an interesting start to the new console cycle. Neither Sony nor Microsoft have announced solid release dates for their new consoles yet, but we'll let you know when more is revealed.