The PlayStation 4 will be around a while longer thanks to PS5 shortages

Sony has reportedly decided to extend the lifespan of its PlayStation 4 console due to supply issues facing its bigger uglier brother, the PlayStation 5. 

According to a new report by Bloomberg, Sony was originally planning to cease production of the PlayStation 4 console at the end of 2021, however, due to the semiconductor shortages and supply chain disruptions, they’ll be continuing production “throughout 2022.” 

According to the report, about a million PlayStation 4’s will hit store shelves throughout 2022 alongside the limited supply of PlayStation 5’s which are still proving as difficult as ever get purchase. 

Sony is hoping that the last-gen PlayStation 4 will provide are more “budget-friendly alternative to the PS5,” according to Bloomberg, however, the ageing console can hardly live up to the Xbox Series S, an actual next-gen budget alternative console. 

A spokesperson from Sony has only officially confirmed that PlayStation 4 production would continue this year and that the company had not planned to stop making the console as “It is one of the best-selling consoles ever and there is always crossover between generations.”

Sony’s CFO Hiroki Totoki has previously stated that Sony expects supply issues to last into 2022, telling analysts in May last year that “even if we secure a lot more devices and produce many more units of the PlayStation 5 next year, our supply wouldn’t be able to catch up with demand.”