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[Celine]

That's what businesstoday is claiming based on information from suppliers.

Machine translation:
Not only laptops, but also consumer electronics, the demand is extremely bleak. It is understood that the two major game console manufacturers, Sony PlayStation and Microsoft Xbox, both faced the challenge of lower-than-expected sales and excessive inventory during the Christmas season last year. In order to clear inventory, Sony has notified its supply chain, including assembly plant Hon Hai, and power supply manufacturers Delta Electronics and Lite-On, that PlayStation orders will be cut in half in the first quarter of this year, from about one million units per month. , lowered to 500,000 units, and Microsoft also informed assembly plants Pegatron and Hon Hai, and power supply manufacturers Qundian and Lite-On that "Xbox production will be completely suspended in the first quarter."

Source:
https://www.businesstoday.com.tw/article/category/183015/post/202401240002/

 

[Thick Thighs Save Lives]

 

[Astray]

Makes sense given how much sell-in happened during the Christmas period.

Sony still needs the market to digest the remnant old ps5 models, and Xbox sales basically cratered last year.

January is the slowest console selling month of the year for a reason.

 

[Celine]

Can a mod change the title replacing "[...] Sony to halve production [...]" with "[...] Sony to halve PS5 production [...]" ?

 

[JackMcGunns]

Now everyone’s trying to dig up any news they hear about MS for clicks.

 

[Raonak]

Not sure what to make of this without context... Do consoles usually ramp down production after a Q4?

 

[Celine]

Not sure what to make of this without context... Do consoles usually ramp down production after a Q4?

To completely halt production for an active console is quite a rare occurrence, typically forced by severe overproduction and falling sales.
A famous one (for who was old enough and followed the industry) was Gamecube in 2003:

Nintendo stops GameCube production

www.neowin.net

 

[Astray]

To completely halt production for an active console is quite a rare occurrence, typically forced by severe overproduction and falling sales.
A famous one (for who was old enough and followed the industry) was Gamecube in 2003:

Nintendo stops GameCube production

www.neowin.net

If I'm the manufacturer I'm literally raging at them for the losses caused by this stoppage. And for a whole quarter too.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

Now everyone’s trying to dig up any news they hear about MS for clicks.

This isn't particularly good news for PS5 as well dude, lmao.

 

[Warnen]

 

[Killjoy-NL]

This isn't particularly good news for PS5 as well dude, lmao.

Unless they were producing like crazy because of extremely high demand and back-orders due to the shortages at the start of this gen.

They probably caught up. Or at least, that would be the most logical reason, imo.

 If this is true.

It would also be bad news for Xbox.

 

[jm89]

Price drops needed.

Crazy to think some regions in the world are still paying more for these consoles then at launch.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

f extremely high demand and back-orders due to the shortages at the start of this gen.

I'm starting to think Sony is failign those 25M predicted units for the fiscal year now.

Maybe 23 or 24M. Still a record for them though.

Unless they do some discounts for the month of March, who knows.

 

[Ronin_7]

Seems like some bullshit.

 

[Killjoy-NL]

I'm starting to think Sony is failign those 25M predicted units for the fiscal year now.

Maybe 23 or 24M. Still a record for them though.

Unless they do some discounts for the month of March, who knows.

True, but that might also have to do with Sony catching up with demand and back-orders.

 

[adamsapple]

True, but that might also have to do with Sony catching up with demand and back-orders.

Catching up to back-orders by halving the production?

Not sure how that tracks.

 

[Elysium44]

I wonder if this is why the Series S 1TB seems to be out of stock everywhere, or was that only ever a limited edition?

 

[Killjoy-NL]

Catching up to back-orders by halving the production?

Not sure how that tracks.

And demand.

They had to catch up after the shortages, right?

Maybe now they are at a point where it's selling as would typically be the case at this point during a gen.

But as I said, it would just be a logical explanation from my point of view, if this is true.
Could just be me.

 

[spons]

I wonder if this is why the Series S 1TB seems to be out of stock everywhere, or was that only ever a limited edition?

Seems to be well available in parts of Europe. Not that anybody buys that thing over here.

 

[Mr.Phoenix]

This all sounds very plausible. Also, it sounds like Sony will fall short of their 25M FY shipment target by around 2M+.

Kinda mind of mind-boggling that by its third year PS5 has just not had a price drop, but even got more expensive. I hope the testing the limits of the price elasticity experiment has ended. I would really like to see what a $300 PS5 would do in the market. Or let's make it fair and say a $350 PS5 being that XSX flirted with that price point (or are they still doing that?).

 

[deriks]

If Xbox stops manufacturing:

If Sony stops:

 

[FalconPunch]

The price of these machines have to drop but that can only happen if component pricing drops. If game consoles which are traditionally recession proof items are stopping/reducing production, then other industries are screwed big time. It's year 3 for these consoles, price should drop to $399

 

[kazuyamishima]

The disc PS5 supposedly makes a profit whilst the Digital break even.

I call this rumour as BS on both parts but mostly on the PS5 one.

But the consoles need to have a price cut. The PS5 is almost 500 quids in UK, 550 euros in Europe. $500 in US and 800 doliroos in Australia.

 

[systemr123]

Seems to be well available in parts of Europe. Not that anybody buys that thing over here.

After last Christmas I was on a holiday in my home country (the Netherlands), and it was already impossible to find any Xbox controllers in any of the big electronic stores (needed one for my Ayn Odin 2).

Here in Sweden the supply is also dwindling down quickly, while Nintendo and PlayStation representation is as big as ever in both places.

 

[spons]

After last Christmas I was on a holiday in my home country (the Netherlands), and it was already impossible to find any Xbox controllers in any of the big electronic stores (needed one for my Ayn Odin 2).

Here in Sweden the supply is also dwindling down quickly, while Nintendo and PlayStation representation is as big as ever in both places.

I checked for the Netherlands, but the Series S 1TB is widely available directly through large online and offline retailers (not third-party sellers) e.g. on Bol.com, Media Markt, Coolblue, Nedgame and Game Mania. So it is definitely not "out of stock everywhere" (as in the original quoted post).

Media Markt barely stocks any games for Xbox in their brick and mortar stores though, and that's not even a recent thing. I've noticed it (anecdotally) a year ago.

 

[Allandor]

Would make sense as many consumers struggle with the high prices for those things (as everything got more expensive). And now as it is no longer a problem to get a PS5 or Xbox (available everywhere) the demand is actually lower.
Also a PS5 pro in the media didn't really increase demand, so more are now waiting for it before buying it.
Also the game situation... seems like most "must buys" are already out and nothing in the near future..
But I guess the worldwide recession is more the problem.

 

[ShaiKhulud1989]

Ic could be true (tho I don't believe Xbox halt this soon one bit or it would've been way bigger news).

But the source is ass. PS5 is also in the cycle of the hw revision change (phat to slim) so some cuts are not that surprising.

 

[Dr. Wilkinson]

Not sure what to make of this without context... Do consoles usually ramp down production after a Q4?

Demand is always low in Q4 (Jan-March) but that doesn’t necessarily mean production is lower. Usually they have to bring inventory levels back up to restock retailers and fill the supply chain back in. So This is not typical at all.

 

[Elysium44]

I checked for the Netherlands, but the Series S 1TB is widely available directly through large online and offline retailers (not third-party sellers) e.g. on Bol.com, Media Markt, Coolblue, Nedgame and Game Mania. So it is definitely not "out of stock everywhere" (as in the original quoted post).

Media Markt barely stocks any games for Xbox in their brick and mortar stores though, and that's not even a recent thing. I've noticed it (anecdotally) a year ago.

Was just basing it on the UK, I was curious recently that it wasn't available at Amazon (except from a 3rd party seller) and discovered it seemed to be unavailable everywhere else I could think to look. Some major stores it doesn't just say out of stock, but it no longer even appears as something they sell. I tried Microsoft's site and it allowed you to order it but only for delivery in a month. I just tried again and it does seem to be in stock there now though (delivery offered within a few days).

 

[JordiENP]

Verizon gave me a series X for free, I believe it.

 

[spons]

Was just basing it on the UK, I was curious recently that it wasn't available at Amazon (except from a 3rd party seller) and discovered it seemed to be unavailable everywhere else I could think to look. Some major stores it doesn't just say out of stock, but it no longer even appears as something they sell. I tried Microsoft's site and it allowed you to order it but only for delivery in a month. I just tried again and it does seem to be in stock there now though (delivery offered within a few days).

Interesting, could it be due to demand? The UK is one of the larger markets for Xbox. Over here, nobody cares about Xbox. That's not an exaggeration either, it's comparable to Spain-levels of "nobody gives a shit". There are plenty of Xbox consoles in any random offline Media Markt, but no games and accessories. I think the stock of consoles in mainland Europe is just sitting there without any serious amount of buyers.

 

[FunkMiller]

Well, we are still in the middle of a cost of living crisis (though things are improving). Plastic boxes that go bing aren't a necessity.

 

[lh032]

no worries, once 1st party exclusive announce, ps5 sales would resume normally again

 

[systemr123]

I checked for the Netherlands, but the Series S 1TB is widely available directly through large online and offline retailers (not third-party sellers) e.g. on Bol.com, Media Markt, Coolblue, Nedgame and Game Mania. So it is definitely not "out of stock everywhere" (as in the original quoted post).

Media Markt barely stocks any games for Xbox in their brick and mortar stores though, and that's not even a recent thing. I've noticed it (anecdotally) a year ago.

I wasn’t talking about the consoles, I was talking about the accessories, I literally couldn’t get any in any brick and mortar store back then. Might be in stock now, but in January I couldn’t get anything. Once again: not consoles but accessories.

 

[Del_X]

A lot of Europe is basically in a recession so this makes sense. They need to cut the price of these things.

 

[Mr Moose]

Was just basing it on the UK, I was curious recently that it wasn't available at Amazon (except from a 3rd party seller) and discovered it seemed to be unavailable everywhere else I could think to look. Some major stores it doesn't just say out of stock, but it no longer even appears as something they sell. I tried Microsoft's site and it allowed you to order it but only for delivery in a month. I just tried again and it does seem to be in stock there now though (delivery offered within a few days).

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-XXU-00007-Series-S-1TB/dp/B0C7W1BR18/

3rd party but Prime deliver. Wait... How is it prime delivery if Amazon aren't dispatching it?

 

[MilkyJoe]

Not sure what to make of this without context... Do consoles usually ramp down production after a Q4?

Maybe everyone is just fucking broke at the moment

 

[HeisenbergFX4]

Makes sense last weekend did some running and the couple of stores we were in the cases were full of PS5 and Series consoles

 

[StereoVsn]

I'm starting to think Sony is failign those 25M predicted units for the fiscal year now.

Maybe 23 or 24M. Still a record for them though.

Unless they do some discounts for the month of March, who knows.

If they are actually cutting production by 1.5 mil units in Q1, they may not even hit those marks. That’s without cuts as you said.

It is kind of crazy to think that we are going into what, consoles fourth year and we haven’t had price cuts, but price actually went up.

 

[TheThreadsThatBindUs]

Who is the author of the article?

Should be clear whether this is BS or not.

 

[Tiago Rodrigues]

If they are actually cutting production by 1.5 mil units in Q1, they may not even hit those marks. That’s without cuts as you said.

It is kind of crazy to think that we are going into what, consoles fourth year and we haven’t had price cuts, but price actually went up.

That depends on how many units they have out shipped though.
Hard to say for sure until they reveal their numbers in April or May

 

[ByWatterson]

If this is true, it's time for a permanent price cut of at least $50 for PS5.

 

[ReyBrujo]

Who is the author of the article?

Should be clear whether this is BS or not.

It was written by 吳筱雯.

 

[midnightAI]

Wait, wait, I think I have this one nailed....

Microsoft are now in a better financial situation due to saving money by having to not subsidise XBox console sales during this period.

 

[Moses85]

Seems to be well available in parts of Europe. Not that anybody buys that thing over here.

Same with the Series X. Nobody buys them.

 

[StereoVsn]

That depends on how many units they have out shipped though.
Hard to say for sure until they reveal their numbers in April or May

Yep, going to be quite interesting to see. Sony may need to do more cuts to start pushing units, kind of what we saw with €400 OG PS5 sales last summer in Europe.

For Xbox… yeah, not sure why will help if $350 XSX don’t sell. And for $350 it was a very good deal all things considered.

Wonder if the “adorably digital” concept will go forward or if it will get canned at this point. Guess we will know more next week.

 

[NEbeast]

Catching up to back-orders by halving the production?

Not sure how that tracks.

 

[Little Chicken]

The state of the global economy is not a good time for expensive consoles with $70 games.

Nintendo must be pretty nervous about the Switch 2 launch.

 

[ChorizoPicozo]

The state of the global economy is not a good time for expensive consoles with $70 games.

Nintendo must be pretty nervous about the Switch 2 launch.

someone has to give up. this is not sustainable

 

[Kokoloko85]

Time for a price drop Mr Sony.
PS1, PS2, PS3 had plenty price drops, especially when the slim came.
Maybe they are waiting till the Pro