Sony Interactive Entertainment Inc.'s PlayStation 5 gaming console is enjoying a boom among Chinese consumers following its release in China in mid-May.
In Shanghai, a new product exhibition of Sony Corp. is under way, and a large number of Chinese people packed the space and indulged in gaming experience on the next-generation console.
In China, PlayStation 5 was rolled out about a half year after it went on sale in Japan in November. Pre-orders that began on April 29 were gone within three seconds. With demand far outstripping supply, it has become nearly impossible to buy one.
The global lack of semiconductors amid the novel coronavirus pandemic has also prevented Sony from supplying enough consoles to Chinese people who want them.
The Japanese electronics giant has sold 7.8 million units around the globe so far.
Although it remains uncertain when shipments of the consoles to China will resume, "I am waiting for PS5 to come to my house as soon as possible to play with my child," a 38-year-old man said at the exhibition on Friday.
Sony launched the first PlayStation in 1994. PlayStation 2, introduced in 2000 with a built-in DVD player, was a global success and recorded worldwide sales of about 155 million units.
==Kyodo
