Getting your hands on a PlayStation 5 console this holiday may be easier than expected. According to separate reports from Bloomberg and the Nikkei Asian Review, Sony is planning to increase PS5 output by as much as 50 percent. The company’s original goal was roughly 6 million units, so that would equate to 9 or 10 million consoles available by the end of the year.
Is this any kind of surprise? Obviously not, considering the popularity and ridiculous sales numbers that the current-generation PlayStation 4 has racked up thus far. That said, COVID-19 and its effect on demand for electronics has played a considerable part in Sony’s decision, too. “Big tech companies are profiting from consumers’ thirst for home entertainment during the global coronavirus pandemic,” noted Nikkei.
Nikkei’s report also revealed that Facebook was ramping up production of Oculus, its virtual reality headset, by 50 percent. Apparently, it already owns around 35 percent of the VR market.
“Compared with the declining smartphone market, VR is still a nascent market but we see strong growth for this year and more and more companies are coming into the arena,” said one source. “The production forecast for the second half of this year could reach at least two million units, which is already around 1.5 times more than its total production output last year. The new Facebook Oculus VR headset will enter mass production around the end of July.”