PS5 shortages could last until 2023 warns Intel as EE gets more stock

Don’t expect to see any shop shelves for a long while (pic: Sony)Don’t expect to see any shop shelves for a long while (pic: Sony)

The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are likely to be difficult to get hold of for the next two years, thanks to semiconductor shortages.

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X have become easier to get hold of in recent months but they’re still nowhere close to freely available, since you have to know about them in advance and get up early if you want to have any chance of buying one.

Sony has already warned that’s going to be a problem until at least next year, but it now looks like the situation is going to last even longer than that.

The problem is a global shortage of semiconductor chips, which affects everything and not just consoles. So when Intel says that they don’t expect things to go back to normal until 2023 that’s bad news for anyone looking to buy a PlayStation 5. Or an Xbox Series X. Or a Switch OLED. Or a high-end PC graphics card. Or basically anything with a semiconductor chip in it.

‘While I expect the shortage to bottom out in the second half, it will take another one to two years before the industry is able to completely catch up with demand,’ said Intel CEO Pat Gelsinger.

Officially, Sony has warned that the shortages will last into the middle of next year, although hopefully getting better all the time – which has been the situation so far.

Most retailers now get two waves of stock in per month, with some stores already starting to get theirs for August.

As we predicted yesterday, John Lewis had some in this morning and while that’s already sold, out EE still has some at time of writing – they only got in around 2,800 but since you have to be a subscriber to buy it from them there may still be a few left if you’re quick.

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Microsoft has been a bit more optimistic in the past, hinting that their shortages may only last for this year but haven’t given a new update since they suggested the problem might be over by June.

The Xbox Series S is already freely available at most retailers, but the more expensive Xbox Series X is barely any easier to get hold of than the PlayStation 5.

The Nintendo Switch OLED is likely to run into similar problems this Christmas and some theorise that may in fact be why Nintendo went with that upgrade rather than a more powerful update.

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