PS5 and Xbox Series X: Before Christmas, video game fans will have to be brave 

Game consoles are one of the most popular Christmas gifts.

But Sony's latest console PS 5 or the Xbox Series X from Microsoft are hardly available - and there is hardly any improvement in sight. 

Munich - If you want to pamper your youngsters - and yourself - with a new game console for Christmas, you have to be very brave now: "We don't have a PS5 available and we don't know whether we'll get anything in before Christmas," it says in one Branch of the industry leader Gamestop.

The situation is similar for other branches of the US chain.

"We are still accepting pre-orders, but this year it will probably not work anymore," they say in Munich.

The PS5 was hardly available in this country at the start of sales last autumn.

But while the situation relaxed reliably after a few months after the launch of the previous versions PS3 or PS4, the PS5 remains a chimera for many gamers even around a year after the premiere.

But like the car manufacturers, the rampant chip shortage has also hit the console manufacturers with full force.

There are also broken logistics chains.

PS5: Bottlenecks cause frustration among customers

For customers, this means above all frustration.

Because new devices usually only come onto the market sporadically and in very small quantities, which are often sold out in seconds.

It only looks better with the Xbox Series S, the smaller and slightly less powerful sister model of the Series X, and with some of the older models of Nintendo's Switch.

But improvement is hardly in sight: Sony was able to report an increase in sold consoles when it presented its quarterly figures.

The sales forecast for the current financial year until March 2022 remains unchanged, said CFO Hiroki Totoki at the presentation of the figures: “There are also several factors that massively limit the supply of Playstation 5 consoles.

But we are still trying everything to meet customer demand. "

PS5 and Xbox: Hardly any improvement in sight

Nintendo only had to adjust the sales forecast for its Switch downwards on Thursday due to ongoing supply problems.

And Microsoft's Xbox boss Phil Spencer does not expect the situation to ease quickly either.

"The problem will stay with us for months and months," he said in an interview at the end of September.

“

by the end of the calendar year and into the coming year.”