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The Tokyo-based tech giant is limiting its initial production run in part because it expects the PS5's ambitious specs to weigh on demand by leading to a high price at launch.https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-16/sony-is-said-to-plan-limited-playstation-5-output-in-first-year
The global Covid-19 pandemic has affected Sony's promotional plans for the new device but not its production capacity, they added.
The company has told assembly partners it would make 5 to 6 million units of the PS5 in the fiscal year ending March 2021, according to other people involved in the machine's supply chain. When Sony released the PlayStation 4 in November 2013, it sold 7.5 million units in its first two quarters.
Currently, Sony sells the PS4 for $300 and the higher-end PS4 Pro for $400. The company may cut these prices around the time of the PS5 launch to stimulate new subscribers for the PlayStation Plus membership program and PlayStation Now game-streaming service
Sony has asked employees to work from home to mitigate the spread of the virus, and its board has been unable to meet to approve business plans for the current fiscal year, including those for the PlayStation unit. That meeting was originally supposed to take place in March.
The company may forgo hosting a public press conference for its PS5 release date and price unveiling due to infection fears. Recently, it was forced to reveal its DualSense PS5 controller in a hurried fashion, according to people informed on the matter.
the controller has been shared with outside developers and the company feared it couldn't control leaks, they said
Still, Sony remains unlikely to delay the launch of the PS5 from the critical year-end shopping season. So long as archrival Microsoft Corp. doesn't push back the release of its next-generation Xbox, also expected at the end of the year, Sony won't delay either
Covid-19 travel restrictions have prevented Sony engineers from flying to China to direct final adjustments before assembly plants go into mass production.