Five months after the PS5 was launched, restocking of the PS5 is still a mess, with inventory being snatched up in a matter of minutes. Sony is well aware of the situation, and according to a recent interview, at least some sort of relief could be on the way soon.

Sony has asked its manufacturing partners to increase production of the PS5. However, these manufacturers are tied up in a global semiconductor shortage.

This information comes from an interview with Nikkei Sangyo Shimbun, a publication associated with the Japanese stock exchange; Video Games Chronicle translated the interview. In it, the Nikkei reporter spoke with Jim Ryan, president and CEO of Sony's PlayStation division. The subject of the interview was Sony's basic strategy for manufacturing and marketing the PS5 and related games.

The bulk of the interview focused on PlayStation's unique relationship with Japanese gamers and Sony's plans to invest more in PS5-exclusive games. Toward the end of the interview, however, Ryan discussed the harsh reality of trying to make more PS5 games.

"There are a number of reasons why the PS5 has become so hard to get," he told the Japanese publication. 'Supply under the new coronavirus was so complicated that we had to limit ourselves to online distribution. The supply and demand for semiconductors is also tight worldwide. We have asked our suppliers to allow us to increase production, which will flow into the market by the end of this year."

This is more or less what we've been hearing for some time: the COVID-19 pandemic has caused a global semiconductor shortage, affecting every advanced computer component in the consumer market. PS5, Xbox Series X, and various computer GPUs are nowhere That's why you can't find them. The shortage of semiconductors means that companies cannot produce as many devices as they would like, and the enormous demand for said devices means that whatever is sold is instantly devoured.

Therefore, it may be impossible to achieve what Ryan has demanded of manufacturers. The chip shortage is likely to last at least until 2022, and possibly longer, depending on how long it takes for the COVID fiasco to be fully resolved.

Still, it is not all doom and gloom. There may be things Sony and its partners can do to get the PS5 into production and shipping more quickly. Manufacturing is a complex process, and one marginal reagent does not tell the whole story. Additionally, the PS5 is hard to find, but Sony has already sold so many PS5s that demand will begin to visibly decrease at some point.

If you are still trying to get a PS5, you will just have to be patient and persistent and keep playing the best PS4 games in the meantime.