Both Sony and Microsoft officially launched their latest gaming consoles two months ago. That said, interested buyers are still finding it hard to get their hands on these devices. For now, there are no specifics as to by when such shortages in supply will end. However, Microsoft has officially confirmed that its latest Xbox Series X console will likely remain scarce in supply until June 2021.
Microsoft said in a statement that its latest Xbox consoles witnessed a huge demand, adding that it was “working tirelessly with our manufacturing and retail partners to replenish Xbox hardware as quickly as possible.”
According to Mike Spencer, head of investor relation at Microsoft, the company was able to sell every console in the last quarter. He further added that the supply of the company’s latest consoles is likely to remain short at least till June 2021.
Microsoft had warned earlier that Xbox Series X supply shortages will continue till April or beyond, and now it becomes clear that buyers might have to wait longer to get their hands on one.
Sony, however, declined to comment regarding the short supply of PS5. The company is consistently referring to high demands as the reason for supply shortages. Both Sony and Microsoft have launched two variants of their latest consoles, though Sony is finding it hard to keep up with the demands of both versions of the PS5. Microsoft, on the other hand, is doing slightly better as the Xbox Series S hasn’t faced any supply shortages so far.
Meanwhile, analysts suggest such supply shortages could be a ploy to create more hype and excitement around these consoles.
“In a lot of ways, they don’t want to satisfy demand initially. They want to have an ongoing gap between supply and demand. They want to have buzz and excitement around it for a longer period,” said David Gibson, the chief investment officer at Astris Advisory in Tokyo. He also added that despite supply constraints, Sony sold 5 million units of the PS5 while Microsoft sold 3 million units of its new console lineup through the end of 2020.
