Update: 11.30 a.m. ET: GameWatch in Japan reports that Sony has confirmed that all but one PS4 model will be discontinued in Japan; only the 500GB PS4 Slim will be produced and Sony Japan will focus on the PS5. This means that all other PS4 models, including the PS4 Pro, will be discontinued and no new inventory will be available.

There is no official word on how PS4 sales are going outside of Japan, but it appears that the PS4 will not be around much longer. If you want a new PS4, now is the time to buy one.

If not being unable to find a PS5 isn't bad enough, PS4 consoles have also been in short supply for the past few months. Unfortunately, this situation is not likely to get any easier as Sony is reportedly discontinuing several PS4 consoles.

According to Twitter user Cheesemeister, one Japanese retailer has posted a notice stating that five PS4 models will not be restocked "because the manufacturer has discontinued production."

Sony's PlayStation Direct has already suggested that the PS4 Pro will not be restocked, and this news could also be the nail in the PS4's coffin: if the base PS4 models are discontinued worldwide, it will be even harder to get a PS4. PS5. at a time when it is almost impossible to buy one at normal MSRP.

Notably, the message does not uniformly state that the PS4 will not be restocked at all, only these five models. Nevertheless, almost all standard PS4 models are listed, with only the 500 GB PS4 Black seemingly missing.

The PS4 has suffered this year as the COVID-19 pandemic has affected the supply chain, making it difficult to get a new console; one could argue that the PS5 has made the PS4 obsolete, but getting a PS4 was almost impossible was; the PS4, especially the 4K-capable PS4 Pro, would have been the perfect stopgap until demand for the PS5 settled down to a reasonable level.

After all, the PS3 was discontinued in mid-2017, almost four years after the PS4 was launched.

Unfortunately, console manufacturers do not see it this way. Microsoft discontinued the 4K Xbox One X in July, ahead of the Xbox Series X launch. Sony has made no official announcement, but it certainly appears ready to discontinue the PS4 and focus entirely on its next-generation consoles.

Now if only they could sort out the supply, gamers won't have to work so hard to find a place to buy a PS5. Spoiler alert: Expect a large shipment of PS5 inventory later this week.