New Delhi: In good news for gaming enthusiasts, Sony PlayStation 5 or PS5 is set to be available for pre-orders in the country starting tomorrow (February 22). The much sought-after gaming console has been out of stock, courtesy of the global shortage of components. The gaming console will be available for booking starting 12 noon at physical retail stores, the media has reported. This is the second time in 2022 that the Sony PS5 console is available for pre-booking in India.
Prospective buyers can book either the PS5 Standard Disc Edition for Rs 49,990 or the PS5 Digital Edition for Rs 39,990, according to a report published in GizmoChina. The stocks of Sony PlayStation 5 have been available in a limited quantity, courtesy of the global chip and component shortage. The tech major has also been struggling to maintain the supply of the PS5 consoles. According to reports, Sony shipped just 3.9 million PlayStation 5 consoles in the festive quarter of 2021.
As per the report, 17.3 million units in total have been shipped as of December 31, nearly three million fewer than the PlayStation 4 had managed at the equivalence point after its release. The gaming division's revenue was down 8 per cent year on year (YoY) to 813.3 billion yen ($7.09 billion), but operating profit rose 12.1 per cent to 92.9 billion yen ($810 million).
Sony's crucial image sensor division had a good quarter, with sales increasing 22 per cent year on year to 57.8 billion ($504 million).
Some previous reports had suggested that Sony had decided to produce more PlayStation 4 or PS4 gaming consoles, and less of the latest-gen PS5, in a bid to fill in the gap created by the acute shortage of PlayStation 5 and also to offset some of the pressure on the production of PS5 consoles. It was said that this would help fill the vacuum and keep PS enthusiasts within the company's ecosystem.
Earlier in January, Microsoft had unveiled a customised console of its Xbox Series S to mark the Year of the Tiger on the Chinese zodiac, although it was said that the new console will not be available for purchase.