Too much demand for PS5, stocks sold out worldwide, and Sony takes a drastic decision: cut production of PS4, which retires early.
Sony will stop production of almost all PS4 models as soon as possible, because it is the only way to increase production of its new next-gen console PlayStation 5. The new console, on the other hand, is suffering from the commercial point of view because of the absolutely insufficient production compared to the demand.
The scarcity of PS5 specimens on the market, moreover, has favored speculations of all kinds such as PS5 sold online at 10 thousand dollars and scams in buying and selling between individuals. A solution in which Sony itself has certainly not made a good impression and that must be resolved as soon as possible. But to increase the production of PS5 it is necessary to sacrifice that of PS4 and, consequently, the latter will exit the market in a very premature way compared to what happened to its previous sisters. The PS4, in fact, has been on sale since only 2013 in the United States (2014 in Japan and Europe), while the PS3's career lasted a full 10 years (2006-2016).
Which PS4s will go out of production first
Most of the PlayStation 4 Slim and PlayStation 4 Pro have already gone out of production, as well as the first PS4 with the initial design. Production of the black 500GB model is currently continuing. The PS4 Pro, let's remember, was introduced just four years ago in September 2016.
Subsequently, the production of the white PS4 Slim and Pro will end soon after and, last, also the production of the white 1 TB PS4.
Sony will produce 18 million PS5s in 2021
According to the Taiwanese online newspaper DigiTimes, the PS5's market debut, despite many problems, was a success: 3.4 million consoles sold in a single month. So much so that, today, the PS5 is almost unobtainable worldwide.
But also according to DigiTimes Sony is going to increase production and, in 2021 alone, the next-generation consoles produced will be between 16.8 and 18 million. This estimate only seems credible in conjunction with the ceased production of the PS4, otherwise Sony would not have enough production lines to make all these PS5 units in such a short time.