Playstation 5, one of the most sought-after electronics products of 2020 by Sony Interactive Entertainment, was almost immediately declared stock-out within a week after its release in markets. Not only Bangladesh but also countries like the United States & Australia had to face this situation. Some hoarders who were able to get a hold of PS5s, started reselling each console for almost double the actual price on different platforms. So, the obvious question arises, “Is there a shortage of PS5 in the market, or is it just because of some opportunist hoarders? Will Bangladesh be able to restock PS5 soon enough to meet the rising demand?”
In Bangladesh, the PS5 was launched by Rangs Electronics Bangladesh at a base price of BDT 120,900 (around USD 1400, which is 2.8 times higher than the retail price in the US/UK), with other electronics importers like Startech and Ryans selling them as well. Other local importers from Rifles Square &Bashundhara City Market were also selling the consoles sourced from unofficial channels at BDT 80,000 to BDT 90,000 according to their Facebook pages. Because of its high asking price, not many were buying the console although the hype for the device is still alive among the fans, as they monitor the price drops from time to time. Although the console is shown available on most of the importer's websites, it is an indication that not many are buying the console as the world is having a shortage of the console, whereas Bangladesh has unsold consoles. A price tag of almost BDT 1 lac for a gaming console in this pandemic situation is albeit way too much for the mostly middle-class families of the country, since most of the PlayStation fans belong to that group. But a drastic price drop seems very much unlikely in the local market as Bangladesh goes into a stricter lockdown with many countries postponing flights to and from Bangladesh, and Sony still facing a chip shortage.
As the Coronavirus Pandemic hit the world in the early days of 2020, forcing billions to stay inside their homes, people turned to tech products to stay entertained, communicating with friends & families, and work remotely. During the pandemic, the world saw an increase of 26% in computer & computer accessories sales. Sales of other electronic gadgets like smartphones, webcams, speakers, and home theatre systems also increased globally.
The Trump administration imposed sanctions on one of the world's top chip producers, China's Semiconductor Manufacturing International Corporation (SMIC), in September of the same year.
Even before the pandemic and US-China Trade War, the chip manufacturers were operating at maximum capacity to meet the growing demand for semiconductors used in Graphics Cards and Processors as more and more people were getting into mining cryptocurrencies. The pandemic and the US-imposed sanction resulted in a global shortage of semiconductors and chips, affecting over 100 industries globally. And to make the situation worse, Taiwan, the home of the world's most valuable semiconductor company, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC), faced an unprecedented drought in 2021. The drought forced the company to reduce its operation since there was a scarcity of ultra-pure water, an absolute necessity for any chip manufacturer.
In May of 2021, a Sony spokesperson confirmed to CNBC that Sony is too facing a shortage of semiconductor supply, which has resulted in the drag of PS5 availability globally. It's not only Sony that has been affected by such a global shortage of semiconductor chips. These chips are used in everything from mobile phones to modern car computer systems, as well as next-generation game consoles. That is why Sony is having to compete with other companies like Apple, Qualcomm & AMD to get supply for the much sought-after semiconductor chips. As these companies are the primary customers of the chip manufacturers, they are getting the semiconductor chips on a priority basis whereas companies like Sony and General Motors are struggling for chips.
The demand for electronics and tech products soared due to the pandemic, whereas the suppliers could not keep up with the demand due to reasons like lockdown, manpower shortage, diplomatic rifts, etc. The same goes for the Playstation shortage as well. Millions of gamers had been anticipating the console for quite some time, and when it was released, the supply was inadequate to meet the rising global demand. As Sony has failed to manufacture the console to keep up with the demand, the price of the product in unofficial channels has increased proportionally.
Experts predict that the Playstation fans might have to wait till 2022 for the situation to normalize and get their hands on their most favourite console. Semiconductor chip manufacturers like Samsung and TSMC have already announced their plan to expand their production facilities whereas Intel has announced to invest $20 billion in the semiconductor chip sector. However, over the last few years, a broader spike in demand for electronic components, ranging from the automobile industry to smartphones, has met with pandemic-related disruptions in semiconductor manufacturing. The chip sector, according to analysts, will take many more months to recover.
Jim Ryan, president, and chief executive of Sony Interactive Entertainment, expects the ongoing PS5 shortages to ease slowly into 2021, but he refuses to guarantee that there will be enough to meet demand by the next holiday shopping season. A leaked quote from Sony’s top executive also revealed that Sony will not be able to ramp up their productions till 2022 even if semiconductor chips become available as their supply will not be able to meet the rising demand for the gaming console.
So it is safe to assume that not all the Playstation fans in Bangladesh will be able to play with their favourite console this year, and they might have to pass this year by watching PS5 gameplays on YouTube only.
The writer can be reached at [email protected]
