Amid reports of production issues, the PlayStation 5 is expected to be in low supply this holiday
- Sony's next-generation PlayStation 5 game console is scheduled to launch this holiday season.
- Despite reports of increased production, Sony warned in late August that only a "limited quantity" of PS5 consoles would be available via preorder at launch.
- As such, the Japanese electronics giant instituted a lottery system. By signing up with your PlayStation Network account, you're entered for a chance to preorder the new console.
- Production issues with the chip that powers the PlayStation 5 are the reason for low supplies this holiday season, according to a new Bloomberg report.
When the PlayStation 5 launches this holiday season, it may be hard to find.
Specifically, production issues with the PlayStation 5's main chip are expected to cause a shortage at launch, according to a new Bloomberg report. Sony is said to have revised its production forecast downward by 4 million units and now expects 11 million PlayStation 5 consoles produced by March.
The console was revealed in mid-June, and in late August Sony announced "a limited quantity of PS5 consoles available for preorder." The company instituted a lottery system for customers interested in preordering the console: Those customers must enter their PlayStation Network ID and hope for the best.
"We will be inviting some of our existing consumers to be one of the first to preorder one from PlayStation," the company said. Using "previous interests and PlayStation activities," the company will determine who is able to preorder the PlayStation 5.
Sony has yet to announce its next-gen console's release date or price, but the company plans to stream a "PlayStation 5 Showcase" event on Wednesday where more launch details are expected to be revealed.
It comes in two versions: There's a standard PlayStation 5, with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive, and a Digital Edition without a disc drive.
Design-wise, the two consoles are similar.
As seen above, the digital edition is symmetrical, while the standard edition has a bump where the disc drive is located.
It's unclear what the price difference will be between the two versions, but a major functional difference is evident: The digital model is unable to read discs, while the standard model can. In practice, that means the digital version is able to play only downloaded games.
Sony representatives did not respond to Business Insider's request for comment.
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