The PlayStation 5 will reportedly have more units in stock than the PlayStation 4 had in 2013 upon its launch, despite disputed rumors that production on the next-gen console was being cut. The news comes right after the launch of PS5 pre-orders ended in chaos when retailers launched the pre-order campaign too early.
The recent PlayStation 5 showcase was heavy on new information regarding Sony's next-gen console. The company revealed the exact price for both editions and also confirmed that pre-orders would go live on the following day. However, several retailers launched pre-orders just a few hours after the showcase ended, leaving PlayStation fans completely unprepared. As a result, the stock was sold out at all the major retailers in no time, while Sony did nothing to resolve the issue.
In an interview with The Washington Post, PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan shared a statement promising that PS5 would have more stock to satisfy the demand for the newest console than PS4 had seven years ago. More than a million PS4 units were sold on its premiere day, and Sony is looking to top that with its upcoming launch. The decision to accumulate a considerable stock of the newest gaming devices was made early in 2020, and the COVID-19 pandemic didn’t seem to derail Sony's plans.
PS5 owners will have even more reason to part with their PS4 consoles, thanks to the PlayStation Plus Collection, which will offer a total of 18 video games from the PS4 era playable on PS5 on launch day. This could serve as a great selling point for newcomers, as the PS Plus Collection will make some of the best PlayStation exclusives available at no extra cost, other than the price of the PS Plus subscription. On top of that, the upcoming next-generation console will be backward compatible with 99% of games in the vast library of the PS4, making them playable on PS5 as well. Between these two features, most players won't have a reason to keep their PS4 around just to play a few games they can't part with.
Sony’s decision to reinforce PS5 stock with additional units for its launch day clearly indicates that the company is expecting the newest console to be a huge hit sales-wise. Its rollout of next-gen pre-orders leaves a lot to be desired, but it's also proven that there's plenty of demand for the PlayStation 5 at launch - enough to crash several websites within minutes of pre-orders going live.
Source: The Washington Post