Players looking for a PlayStation 5 may have to wait a little longer to find one.
Sony warned Wednesday that it is struggling to meet the demand for the best-selling gaming console as it faces a shortage of computer chips.
The Japanese tech giant said it has to compete with a wide range of other companies for the semiconductors used to make the PS5, such as carmakers and smartphone companies.
“It’s hard for us to increase PS5 production amid the shortage of semiconductors and other components,” Sony CEO Hiroki Totoki told a news conference.
Despite production issues, Sony said it sold 4.5 million PS5 consoles from its November release through late December. That performance was on par with the launch of PlayStation 4 in 2013, which moved 4.5 million units in its first quarter on the market, Sony said.
Sony said it is on track to meet its goal of selling more than 7.6 million PS5s by the end of March, although it has not been able to fully meet the high level of customer demand.
The $ 499 consoles have been hard to find since orders sold out in a few hours in September. The heaters tried to wrap the consoles for thousands of dollars on eBay after they officially arrived in stores.
“We continue to do everything in our power to ship as many units as possible to customers expecting a PS5,” Sony said in its earnings report on Wednesday.
Sony shares listed in New York jumped up 10 percent to $ 109.48 on Wednesday after the company raised its earnings forecasts thanks in part to the strength of its gaming unit.
Sony now expects to make an operating profit of 940 billion yen (about $ 9 billion) for the year ending March 31, with 340 billion yen (about $ 3.2 billion) from the gaming and services segment network.
With publishing cables