Sony is reportedly making fewer PS5s this year due to the increased costs of production. It's not yet known what the launch price of the system could be, but some speculation has it at around $500. Even with low margins for the Japanese console maker, this could mean that the PS5 is hard to come by at launch, not only because it will outprice many console buyers, but because there will be somewhat limited quantities.
This isn't entirely unheard of in Sony's console history. The PS3 was notoriously difficult to develop and that ended up in few being available at launch, which drove up prices further as scalpers sort to make a quick buck. The PS4 was much simpler and therefore cheaper to produce, but the PS5 appears to be taking a middle ground and will be both costly, and in short supply.
As Kotaku points out, it's also entirely possible that the ongoing pandemic has slowed production on the system. With employees working from home, or limited hours per day, there will be slowdowns, holdups and less work completed in a timely fashion. That could have the knock on effect of fewer systems available at launch later this year.
Current estimates suggest that there will be 5-6 million PS5s produced during the 2020-2021 financial year. While that sounds promising, that includes the first three months of 2021. That may mean we're only looking at a couple of million PS5s being ready at launch. Those will be snapped up very quickly.
