PS5 vs. Xbox Series X Stock Shortages: When Will They Be Resolved?

| November 16, 2020 |

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PS5 vs Xbox Series X Stock — *Photo: Saeed Khan and Charly Triballeau/Getty*

The PS5 vs. Xbox Serial X war is sure to be an interesting ane based on the initial projected sales of both devices, just we're not really going to encounter the battle truly begin until more people really ain one of (or both of) the new consoles.

Therein lies the problem. The fact of the thing is that Microsoft and Sony are dealing with hardware shortages that have made it incredibly difficult to pre-order or outright purchase a next-gen console. Even worse, everything we've heard so far suggests that it'southward going to be a long time before you're able to buy an Xbox Series X/S or PS5 with relative ease.

Here's what we know most the current shortages impacting the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 every bit well every bit when you can await these situations to be resolved.

Xbox Series 10/S Stock Shortages

In a surprising motility, Microsoft CFO Tim Stuart spoke at the Jefferies Interactive Entertainment Virtual Briefing (as reported on by Seeking Alpha) well-nigh how bad the Xbox Series 10/Due south shortage really is.

"You lot wish you had supply to meet the huge demand," Stuart said. "I think what we've seen over the last generation and then heading into now is — and part of this need profile is, frankly, gaming is only exploding."

Y'all probably didn't need Stuart to tell you lot that it'southward going to be difficult to discover an Xbox Serial X/S in time for the holidays, but what is a little more surprising are Stuart's estimates of how long the shortage may concluding.

"Yous'll be outside of a holiday window," says Stuart in regards to when Microsoft expects to start amend meeting demand with supply. "We'll accept supply cranking over the next, what, 4, 5, 6 months. And that's when I look to come across actually that demand contour start to be met, which volition be really, really slap-up."

If that estimate is accurate (which, given the source, feels like a given), then you lot may not actually be able to reasonably buy an Xbox Series X/S at volition (or close to information technology) until March or April of 2021. While that trajectory is most certainly based on the popularity of the console itself (which Microsoft noted enjoyed the biggest launch in Xbox history), information technology's also a testament to the extent of the issues caused past the COVID-19 pandemic.

Nosotros absolutely believe that it's going to be difficult to get an Xbox Series 10/S by the end of the year if y'all don't already ain one, but nosotros would have previously guessed that the situation may improve a fleck after the holidays. Now, it seems that you lot're going to want to pay close attention to any online restock notifications until further discover.

PlayStation v Stock Shortages

While Sony has not yet officially commented on when they wait to be able to supply enough PS5s to meet the ongoing demand for the console (at to the lowest degree since the console's launch on Nov 12), analysts are suggesting that their situation could be as bad or worse than the i that Microsoft is dealing with:

I expect shortages for both PS5 and Xbox Series X during the launch flow upwards until at least end of March 2021. I'm expecting insufficiently good availability of Xbox Series S/10 on actual launch day simply country coverage + demand means inevitable ongoing supply patchiness https://t.co/nWHtve6Iz6
— Piers Harding-Rolls (@PiersHR) October 28, 2020

We know that the initial PS5 shortage tin can at to the lowest degree partially be attributed to a shortage of the console's fries (as well as distribution and manufacturing problems caused by the complications related to the COVID-19 pandemic), just as we're already seeing in Europe where some who pre-ordered a PS5 were warned they may not receive their console until 2021, Sony faces some notable additional issues moving forwards.

The fact of the matter is that the PlayStation brand has historically been more popular than the Xbox brand on a global scale. That increased popularity means increased need, especially in Nippon where Microsoft is however trying to truly establish themselves. Sony may accept even more than mouths to feed than Microsoft, and we've seen nothing that suggests they've been able to significantly accelerate their console production methods in a way that will permit them to immediately accost customer requests.

Even if Sony is able to solve their product problems or at least address them in a meaningful way, information technology's most impossible to imagine that PS5 stock will exceed Xbox Series X/South stock before March of 2021 at the primeval. You likewise accept to remember that many physical retailers are still besides greatly impacted by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, which means that more and more people are turning to the aforementioned group of major online retailers who are, in turn, managing limited stock.

Again, all of this is to say that it'south going to be very difficult to get a PS5 earlier the terminate of 2020 at the very least.