Are you dreaming of a day when you easily log into Amazon or walk into a store and buy a PlayStation 5? Well, don’t hold your breath. Sony has already sold nearly 8 million PS5s, but demand still far outstrips supply, and unfortunately, it doesn’t sound like that’s going to change anytime soon. During Sony’s most recent earnings call, CFO Hiroki Totoki warned PS5 shortages will be a fact of life for a while, although they’re still hoping to one-up what the PS4 did in its second year on the market (thanks to Video Games Chronicle for the transcription).

　　As I said earlier, we’re aiming for more sales volume than the PS4 [during year 2]. But can we drastically increase the supply? No, that’s not likely. The shortage of semiconductors is one factor, but there are other factors that will impact on the production volume. So, at present, we’d like to aim at [beating] second year sales of 14.8 million, which was the second year of PS4.

　　Interestingly, Totoki hinted that if the worldwide shortage of semiconductors drags on, Sony may consider “changing the design” of the PS5 in order to get more units on shelves. I’m not sure what those design changes could be, as the current chip and component shortages are pretty wide-ranging, but I guess we’ll see.

　　Meanwhile, Microsoft, which previously said the Xbox Series X and S will be supply constrained until April 2021, is now saying their new consoles will likely be scarce throughout Q4 of their 2021 fiscal year, which ends on June 30. So, getting a next-gen console isn’t going to be easy for a while, regardless of whether you’re a Sony or Microsoft fan.

　　What about you folks? Have you had any success locking down a PS5 or Xbox Series X? Are you happy to wait or are you getting frustrated by the short supplies?