PS5 shortage is over and new PlayStation should be ‘much easier’ to buy everywhere, Sony declares

New console has been almost impossible to buy at times during the more than two years since it was released

Customers queue in hope of a PS5 (Copyright 2022 The Associated Press. All rights reserved)

The great PlayStation 5 shortage is finally over, Sony has declared.

The new PS5 was first released in November 2020. From the very beginning – and at many times since – it was almost impossible to buy, with new consoles being bought up as soon as they arrived in stores.

Problems including the global pandemic as well as a worldwide shortage of computer chips meant that Sony was unable to build enough consoles to keep supply available.

It left many fans disappointed, and either forced to search through endless retailers for new stock or paying overinflated prices to “scalpers” who bought up consoles and then sold them on.

But the console should now be “much easier” to buy, the company has announced, after two years of problems.

“Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward,” said Jim Ryan, Sony’s PlayStation head, during an event at the CES press conference.

He thanked fans for sticking with the company as it “managed unprecedented demand amid global challenges over the past two years”.

The comments came as PlayStation announced a new accessibility controller kit called Project Leonardo that it said will allow players with disabilities to more easily use the PlayStation.

Sony’s announcement also include a reminder of the imminent release of PlayStation VR2, Sony’s upcoming virtual reality headset. It still remains unclear whether Sony will be able to meet demand of that equipment when it arrived on 23 February.

The PS5 shortages have caused problems not just for customers and fans, but for Sony itself. It has experienced financial problems as a result of not being able to make enough of the consoles.

Last year, for instance, it announced that despite huge demand for the consoles and growth across the business, its video games division’s results had fallen short of expectations. Difficulties getting enough chips to build the consoles had held back its financial results, it said.