"Not everybody who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day" may find one, Jim Ryan admits

PS5
(Image credit: Sony)

PlayStation boss Jim Ryan is warning that it might be tough to buy a PS5 on launch, with high pre-order numbers indicating even more interest than Sony expected.

Ryan offered some new insight on the PS5 launch situation in a recent interview with Reuters. He revealed that there were more PS5 pre-orders in the first 12 hours of availability than there were PS4 pre-orders in its first 12 weeks of availability. While that won't necessarily translate over to equally high numbers of people being out on the prowl for a console on launch day, it does make the situation seem all the more pressing.

"It may well be that not everybody who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day will be able to find one," Ryan said. However, he did note that Sony is "working as hard as we ever can" to provide enough systems for holiday shoppers.

We recently got to take an early look at the system with a PS5 unboxing and an early playthrough of Astro's Playroom, the bundled-in game. It's still too early to deliver anything close to a final verdict, but it's enough to get us very excited for the proper launch ahead. Ryan told Reuters that Sony's very excited about the launch internally, as well - thanks in part to the boost provided by so many folks needing to stay inside the foreseeable future.

"We're definitely looking upwards and thinking that we can do better than we thought we could," Ryan said.

Also, it turns out that PS5 controllers have tiny little PlayStation symbols all over them, so it's bound to sell out. If you're looking for a few extras around launch day, then check out our guide to the best PS5 accessories.

Connor Sheridan

I got a BA in journalism from Central Michigan University - though the best education I received there was from CM Life, its student-run newspaper. Long before that, I started pursuing my degree in video games by bugging my older brother to let me play Zelda on the Super Nintendo. I've previously been a news intern for GameSpot, a news writer for CVG, and now I'm a staff writer here at GamesRadar.