“We’re going to launch this year”: Sony CEO confident COVID-19 won’t affect PlayStation 5 launch

The company also promised to “keep serving” the PS4 community

Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO and President, Jim Ryan, has confirmed that the PlayStation 5’s launch and pricing have not been affected by the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

In a series of interviews with the BBC and GamesIndustry.biz, Ryan said that while the pandemic has created production and distribution challenges, it has not delayed or derailed the company’s plans for a global 2020 PS5 launch, nor has it forced it to shift its price point.

“[COVID-19 is] obviously introducing a level of complexity any business would prefer not to have to deal with. But we’re feeling really good about the supply chain, we’re going to launch this year and we’ll be global,” Ryan told the BBC, adding that the pandemic has also not changed the planned launch price of the console.

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Ryan shared more about the company’s production process with GamesIndustry.biz, stating that “the way that the various groups within PlayStation have responded [to the working-from-home environment] has been magnificent. There are the hardware engineers who are having to work without being able to get into China, where PS5 will be assembled. That’s kind of tough.”

“The software engineers who are building these great features, who are building a great PS5 UI… some of that can be readily done in isolation. But when it comes to putting it all together, that’s not easy to do remotely and they’re doing a great job. We, and our partners, seem to be coping really well.”

Ryan also assured the PS4 community, telling the BBC that, despite its focus on the PS5, the company will not leave them behind. “If we’ve got 100 million PS4 owners now, the majority of those will not buy a PS5 for a couple of years. It’s our responsibility and it’s an opportunity to keep serving them great gaming content and keep them happy.”

Sony has also announced The Future Of Gaming, a digital showcase where the company will reveal upcoming PS5 games. The broadcast will take place on Thursday, June 4 at 9pm BST.

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