Amid ongoing PlayStation 5 console shortages, Sony is extending production of its previous generation PS4 console until the end of 2022.
According to Bloomberg the Japanese company informed its partners late last year it would continue to make the PS4 for another year after initially planning to discontinue production at the end of 2021.
"It is one of the best-selling consoles ever and there is always crossover between generations," a Sony spokesperson told gaming website Kotaku.
Availability of the PS5 has been limited due to ongoing issues with the supply chain for semiconductors amid the COVID-19 pandemic.
That's left New Zealanders hoping to take advantage of the PS5's advanced gaming power disappointed, with local retailers largely out of stock since the console's release in November 2020.
Tight supply has seen the secondary market - particularly on Trade Me and Facebook Marketplace - become the main source of new consoles, often at a gouged price.
However buyers from such platforms run the risk of not having any comeback against the seller should the console prove defective during its warranty period. That makes purchasing the eight-year-old PS4 instead a safer option, with new games still being released on the older console.
But even the PS4 is proving difficult to purchase, with popular online retailers in Aotearoa and elsewhere showing no stock.
Sony is planning on making an additional one million PS4s, according to reports, and it's unclear how many of those will make their way here.
That shortage has led to an active secondhand market for the older console too, with prices generally starting at around $350 for a unit with a couple of games.
PlayStation's advice to Kiwi gamers hoping to secure a PS5 console last year was to stay in touch with their local retailer for updates.
Sony isn't the only tech company impacted by shortages of stock - Microsoft's Xbox Series X console is also hard to buy in New Zealand, with no current availability at retailers.
Anyone hoping for a new console in the short term may have to pick up the Series S version instead, which doesn't have as much power as the Series X and offers games at a lower resolution.
