The PlayStation 5 has broken records, and, according to the forecasts, there will be an even higher figure for 2021.

According to Digitimes, based on its „industry sources,” in its first four weeks of the PlayStation 5, a total of 3.4 million units have been shipped. The production is going to ramp up significantly in the next year, as it is expected to reach 16.8 to 18 million units in 2021, thanks to Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company providing more capacity, as well as the backend service firms.

AMD has also reportedly secured additional foundry capacity from Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company to have more of the PlayStation 5’s custom, 7nm CPU manufactured, and it would allow the downstream production partners to ramp up the console’s output. This will be necessary, as the PlayStation 5 is currently suffering from a heavy lack of stock. In North America and Europe, the retail partners randomly replenish the stock, but they get sold out almost immediately, regardless if it’s scalpers or not.

PlayStation Direct – which is a direct-to-customer online Sony shop in the United States, with plans to expand into Europe next year – gets more PlayStation 5 Standard Edition and PlayStation 5 Digital Edition units to sell, but they too sell them in no time. In Japan, retailers use raffles to decide who gets to acquire a new Sony console, which, in the country, has sold 242 thousand units by December 20, Famitsu reports. The Asian situation is said to improve in 2021, as Digitimes claims Sony Interactive Entertainment has focused on North America and Europe.

With its 3.4 million performance in its first four weeks, the PlayStation 5 has become the biggest PlayStation launch, but don’t forget that the gaming industry continues to grow, which is why such a result was expected.

Source: Gematsu