Playstation 5 [PS5] [Release November 12 2020]

It means Sony expects demand to be higher than supply. That doesn't mean there is a supply problem.

Sony didn't have any issues with the PS4 and yet there were shortages in several markets during the first months after launch.

https://www.trustedreviews.com/news/ps4-stock-shortages-could-last-until-april-sony-suggests-2914928

 

I totally agree on it being nice to have, but please put a dollar value on it. If the BC* games you wanted play, where in PlayNow, would you pay the PlayNow fee to play them?

How many games does Sony have to sell to make up for the cost of doing BC? It's about the $ & € in the end.

*BC makes me think of this game

 

Not necessarily. It could mean that the supply chain is really slow to get product from factory to retail stores. So it's better to build more now, and have it ship out then to do just in time manufacturing to delivery.

ie, if the transport is a big issue. It's better to overstock stores than to just stock them as regular: buys you more time to get out your next shipment.

 

Supply chain is rough at the moment, air freight has rocketed, sea freight is still working through the backlog and effects of shipments being stuck on the docks and warehouses in China earlier this year, due to COVID.

 

After having worked very close with a logistics company I do not think logistics should be any issue. During the pandemic people were worried that there wouldn't be food or oil, or Amazon wouldn't deliver their products. The reality is they worked like a clockwork (for the most part). Logistics are hard but transport companies invest a ton of money every year in making their processes more efficient and reliable, even to save 10 cents out every truck they load.

Again, shortages happen when demand is higher than supply. It happens with a lot of product launches but that doesn't mean there is a supply issue. Sony is not going to build another factory to avoid supply shortages for 6 months, not worthy.

Sea travel? you sure? last time I heard lot of companies were having over capacity issues. Actually, it were the land transport guys who were pretty overwhelmed. Although the situation has greatly improved since May-June.

edit:
https://www.porttechnology.org/news/covid-19-exacerbates-shippings-oversupply-problem/

A bit OT but an interesting issue, they already had issues several years ago after the financial crisis. They were investing in a lot of ships based on future global trade estimations that were thrown into the toilet.

 

Would not surprise me to learn either company was having problems with supply on literally any part right now thanks to Covid, cut to Sony or MS announcing as delay because of an issue with the printing of those sheets with regulatory declarations you have to put in every box

 

This has been my experience at least with amazon prime. Typical 2-3 days shipping is now 2-3 weeks. As long as 5 weeks at times.

 

We get about 50 euro pallets every 2 months from China or Thailand and then maybe half of that from Taiwan. Room on ships have been scarce from Asia to EU since China opened up again. We rebooked some of the stuff to trains for the stuff from China.
One of our logistics partners, said that, many ships went to port and stayed there.
Thats what I have been told.

 

Maybe. I'll worry if september passes and we have no date/price. For now, they're doing what they said they would 4 years ago when they talked about Apple like strategy and utilizing it with the PRO's release.

 

Switch has a release date and a price 46 days before release.

 

But Sony are (allegedly, reportedly) producing millions of units so I’m pretty sure that the “lottery” is just a marketing project to create interest and demand.

I just wish their “marketing projects” were more focused on, you know, giving us more information?

 

Once again, seems really painful for us.
As each day inches closer to November, everyone is just going to be trigger finger ready to pre-order. Like there is only going to be so much time to get a day 1 console and then it's gone. When stretched over a longer period of time, retailers will have more time to allocate more. At this point in time; I dunno.. lol. I would say comparing a new gen to PS4 Pro is not equivalent.

First I'm going to see how this 3080 pre-order thing goes. And then I'll worry about PS5 when the time comes. I'll either be jaded or everything is going to be ok.

 

Are you sure? Not a subscriber and all of the marketing refers to PS2/3/4 games with no mention of PS1 games.

PSP was hardware IIRC. Maybe not completely, but I think the hardware is related enough to perform many of the instructions in hardware. But I would agree, from a financial standpoint, axing BC and selling "enhanced" collections has worked out well for the last 2 generations and I'm heartened to see such a focus on it this generation, from a consumer standpoint.

 

To be fair MS announced their console over a year ago. I believe e3 2019 which was what May / June ? So with a nov 2020 release your at what 16 to 18 months ? to save up knowing if you wanted a new console. and thats what 32 bucks a month to put on the side ?

 

Sorry, my crap memory- it was PS2 there was just a few of (17 at the time of counting).

 

That’s not how it works. You assume it’s guaranteed and that There is enough supply for everyone.

 

Also, I don’t know if the people buying new consoles at launch are those with zero disposable income who need to save $32 a month the 18 months before. Really don’t think that’s the norm.

 

There is never enough supply for everyone. Someone is always going to be left out. I'm saying that money shouldn't be an issue at this point . Consoles were announced over a year ago. So even if you didn't want an xbox you knew a ps was coming also. There is no reason to not just preorder at a store. You've had plenty of time to put $500 on the side. Even $600 if you assume a few accessories.

 

Money isn’t my issue. I don’t just buy things because I want it. I have to evaluate the whole product and price is included in that evaluation. The reality is that by the time they announce it; everything else is happening too. Evaluation time is narrow and only committed fans (whereby the decision was made long ago regardless of price) are the people that are going to get it first. If you don’t see how that differs from last generation launch I don’t know how else to put it.

Put in another way, the amount of time I had to decide (current gen) is what made me go from PS to Xbox. I had that much time (after both announcements) to really mull about what I wanted at the time from a game console. If they had done this setup as they are now, I would have gone PS from the get go, there wouldn't have been enough time to evaluate and debate which one I should get. Surprisingly the one factor that got me to get Xbox last minute (devkit in every console) was the only feature I never used! Not to mention the burn of a last minute email that I wouldn't be paid more from a publisher the full amount that was promised for PS3@Home game I worked on. And that Sony would now be charging for PS+ (I had no interest in paying for XBLG as I was a PC main)

Things just happen, but when you give people very little time to evaluate, it's not a great thing.