Sony Cuts PS5 Production Because of Chipset Issues

Bloomberg reports that Sony has had to cut PlayStation 5 production by 4 million units due to issues manufacturing its chipsets.

Sony originally expected to ship 15 million PS5 consoles to customers in its initial holiday quarter launch cycle, but it now expects to ship just 11 million units, the publication claims, citing multiple sources. The issue? “Production issues with its custom-designed system-on-chip for the new console.” Apparently, the production yields are only 50 percent.

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Sony is expecting a PS5 sales bonanza this holiday season based on earlier video gaming demand during the COVID-19 pandemic. And even at this reduced level, 11 million units is still a sizable number for the console market.

Of course, the bigger question is the cost of the PS5 for consumers. Sony is widely expected to announce its pricing strategy tomorrow at a virtual event.

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Conversation 5 comments

  • mrkirbs

    Premium Member
    15 September, 2020 - 2:38 pm

    <p>Here we see the real benefit of the Series S. The Series X is largely a similar chip as the PS5, and thus probably has similar yields. But, instead of throwing away half the wafer, some of those chips that fail to be certified for use in the Series X are likely good enough to be Series S chips. So by having a lower spec option, you actually can recover some materials costs from the high end option</p>

  • dad0118

    15 September, 2020 - 2:50 pm

    <p>Sony has denied this report.</p>

    • pixymisa

      15 September, 2020 - 7:51 pm

      <p>It seemed odd to me – why should only Sony be affected by a production issue? Wouldn't be the first time Bloomberg published a story that was totally wrong.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      16 September, 2020 - 9:45 am

      Let’s see. Who do we trust more on this, Bloomberg or Sony? 🙂

  • eric_rasmussen

    Premium Member
    16 September, 2020 - 11:19 am

    <p>Is this the AMD chip that's having issues? That would be weird, TSMC seems to have things pretty dialed in. I seem to remember Sony taking about using their own custom silicon in the PS5 alongside the AMD APU. Perhaps this is the silicon that's having issues?</p><p><br></p><p>Edit: I found the information I was looking for. Sony is using a proprietary SSD for main storage that is supposed to be insanely efficient, and they've got a proprietary sound chip called Tempest. My guess is that one of these new time might be the problem, but it could be AMD… Whatever the case may be I'm really looking forward to this next generation of consoles!</p>

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