Supply Bottlenecks Hamper Debute of Sony & Microsoft Gaming Consoles

Sales of the most awaited gaming consoles by Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp.’s fall short of their predecessors during the launch week in Japan due to persistent supply bottlenecks.

These two gaming consoles were first launched in Japan, which is considered as the main battlefield between these two companies.

While both companies struggled with low stock levels, it is reported that Sony was able to sell 118,085 PlayStation 5 consoles from 12th to 15th November. This is only one third of PS4's launch sales.

Similarly, Microsoft sold 20,534 Xbox Series X and S in six days since its launch on the 10th of November, falling short of the 23,562 Xbox One sales during its first few days.

Similar trends were also observed by both companies in the United States, where sales are on a first-come, first-serve basis.

As logistical disruptions and supply bottlenecks have impacted many manufacturers across the globe, low sales in comparison to other PlayStation and Xbox predecessors show that this issue is more embedded in the supply-side concerns.

Microsoft plans on releasing its two consoles to 37 countries, which are a lot more than the 13 markets in which Xbox One generation was released. On the other hand, Sony will also double its release markets to 65 nations for the new consoled.

As both Sony and Microsoft grapple with inadequate supply, it is important that they remove these hurdles as soon as possible to avoid a loss of initial momentum which could possibly damage their consoles' lifetime sales.