Sony plans to make more PS5 gaming consoles, but with a rather unusual sacrifice

Sony is discontinuing all but one PS4 Pro model in Japan with an aim to build more PlayStation 5 consoles.

PS5. (Unsplash)

Sony Japan has reportedly announced that it is going to end the production of the PS4 Pro consoles in Japan and only continue to produce one single model there. As per reports, it is not clear if the same policy is going to apply for other markets as well.

According to Gamewatch, Sony has discontinued all models of the PS4 Pro consoles in the Japan market, and only the PS4 Slim is still available. The original PS4 design is already out of active production and the only PS4 that will remain in production now is the 500GB jet black ‘Slim' PS4.

The company has decided on this move so as Sony Interactive Entertainment can increase production of the new PlayStation 5 (PS5) that has been facing stock shortages since launch. The PS5 launch was the biggest in Sony's console history in the US.

Sony's decision to discontinue certain PS4 models is so far restricted to Japan only and it is not known if the company is going to follow this up in other western markets or not.

To be fair, as IGN points out, the PS4 Pro retails at $399, which is the same as the PS5 digital edition. With Sony looking to move on from the last-gen consoles to the new-gen one within three years, it's natural that the company will be hoping to increase the number of PS5 console owners as soon as possible.

Xbox had decided on something similar ahead of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S launches when the Xbox One X and Xbox Series S Digital Edition were discontinued in July 2020.

Sony's new decision for the Japan market does not mean that PS4 owners will go without games though. Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan has said that it is crucial for the company to continue serving the older consoles' playerbase till 2022 at least.