It's pretty clear that Sony's PS5 is a hit even before it arrives on November 12th. But it's just as clear that Sony hasn't exactly knocked it out of the park when it comes to satisfying customer demand ahead of release. Now they can lay a fair share of that burden on the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic and all the complications that arise from it, but they've also got "very, very considerable" demand to deal with, the likes of which outpace even PS4 demand back in 2013.

In speaking with Reuters, CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment Jim Ryan said, “The demand as expressed by the level of pre-order has been very, very considerable.” How considerable? Let's quantify it a bit more: In the U.S. alone, Sony had at least as many PS5 pre-orders in the first 12 hours of availability as they did for the first 12 weeks of the PS4. The current-gen system tallied some 100 million units sold, and it's still chugging along just fine even as Sony is encouraging their player base to consider upgrading their hardware and software to the next-gen console. And while many game studios are offering these upgrades for free to existing and future customers who own a current-gen title (on either the Sony PlayStation line or the Microsoft Xbox series), getting your hands on a next-gen gaming machine may be easier said than done.

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Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment

“It may well be that not everybody who wants to buy a PS5 on launch day will be able to find one," said Ryan, though he also confirmed the obvious that Sony is “working as hard as we ever can” to try to satisfy that demand as we approach the end-of-year holiday season. Still, all that demand comes as good news to Sony execs and shareholders since the PS5 may be their first console launch that doesn't push their games division to an annual loss. It helps that Sony's PS4 exclusives like Ghost of Tsushima and their other outstanding 2020 game titles have bolstered the books a bit. Ironically, the pandemic may have had a part to play in that success as more folks than ever are stuck at home and looking for games to play and take their minds off of ::gestures to everything else going on::

Still, it behooves Sony to make as many PS5s available in 2020 as they can, the better to satisfy a hungry customer base and to pad out the bottom line.

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Image via Sony Interactive Entertainment