Sony's PlayStation 5 (PS5) and the DualSense controller
You might have a slightly better chance of locking in a PS5 pre-order when Sony finally opens them up. The company has boosted its initial PlayStation 5 production orders to between 9 million and 10 million units, according to Nikkei and Bloomberg Japan. Previous reports suggested it was planning to build 5 million to 6 million units this year, and the latest figures reflect enormous demand for the PS5.
Sony will release the PS5 towards the end of this year, and appetite for the system is already at a fever pitch. Gamers would have been excited for the console no matter what, but given that we’re all still likely to be spending more time at home for the foreseeable future amid the coronavirus pandemic and are craving quality home entertainment, demand could be even higher than expected.
We’ve still to find out the PS5 price, launch date and pre-order details. Rumors had suggested those would emerge on Monday, but that wasn’t to be. I doubt we’ll find out this week, as Sony is likely wary of overshadowing Friday’s launch of Ghost of Tsushima, its last major first-party exclusive for PS4. At this point, it might let Microsoft reveal pricing and launch details for Xbox Series X first. That company is set to hold a games event for its upcoming console on July 23rd.
In any case, it probably won’t be too much longer until we find out about pricing and pre-order details for both systems. The launch window is creeping ever closer.
The Nikkei report also states that Facebook is ramping up production of the latest version of its Oculus virtual reality headsets too. The social media colossus is said to be hopeful of 50% growth from last year. It shipped 1.5 million units in 2019, per research agency TrendForce. Facebook has reportedly boosted its production forecast to 2 million units for the second half of the year. Mass production on the next Oculus model is said to be starting at the end of this month.
Facebook is currently the leader in the still-nascent VR market, according to the report, with a 35% market share. Sony (with PlayStation VR) and HTC are among its rivals in that sector.
