Sony Increases Production For PlayStation 5 Units To 10M By 2021

KEY POINTS

The lack of a solution to the COVID-19 pandemic has forced people who are stuck indoors to increase demand for the Sony PlayStation 5
From a conservative estimate of six million units, Sony has increased production to between nine to 10 million units by the end of the year
Facebook is also ramping up production for its Oculus virtual reality headsets with orders of up to two million units -- reportedly 50% more when compared to a year ago

With no clear end to the coronavirus pandemic in sight, demand has soared for pre-orders of Sony’s upcoming PlayStation 5 console.

Gamesindustry.biz cites reports from both Bloomberg and Nikkei Asian Review, which cited anonymous sources close to the matter. Bloomberg claims Sony is planning to ready 10 million PS5 units by the end of the year, while Nikkei reports this is closer to nine million.

There were earlier reports that Sony had reduced the order of PS5 consoles to six million units by the end of the fiscal year in March 2021. The coronavirus pandemic was to blame for that reduction on top of the manufacturing of the majority of the units being handled in China.

Yet due to the same pandemic, fears of a second wave of coronavirus, and the subsequent increase in demand for indoor entertainment like video games, supply chains are said to be returning to more productive levels.

Sony has thus informed suppliers and assembly partners of its increase in order in anticipation of the PlayStation 5 launch slated for this holiday season although delivery of these additional units by the time of that launch is unclear.

With the higher order for console units, orders for the new DualSense controllers for the PS5 have also been increased accordingly.

Bloomberg reports the PS5 went into mass production in June. The new plan will see five million units manufactured by the end of September, with another five million completed between October and December, notes Gamesindutry.biz.

In related news, Nikkei reports Facebook is also ramping up production for its Oculus virtual reality headsets with orders of up to two million units -- reportedly 50% more when compared to a year ago.

The latest version of Oculus will reportedly enter mass production at the end of July, although the orders could still be raised or lessened depending on the demands of the market at launch.

Like the PS5, the increase in the orders for the Oculus has been linked to the COVID-19 pandemic, with more people turning to VR as a gaming device since various restrictions have been in place around the physical world.