Sony's factory can assemble a PlayStation console every 30 seconds

Sony's Japan-based manufacturing facility will be a tremendous asset when it starts producing next-gen PS5 consoles alongside the current PS4 lineup.

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Image Credit: Nikkei Asian Review

A recent report from Nikkei Asian Review shines a light on one of Sony's little-known home field advantages: an ultra-efficient assembly line that can belt out two PlayStation 4 consoles every minute. The Kisarazu-based plant is wholly-owned by Sony, and owes its speedy productivity to a team of 32 specialized Mitsubishi robots who run a 100-foot assembly line. The plant has helped produce all generations of PlayStation hardware since the PS1 shipped in 1994.

The facility is almost completely automated, and apparently there's only four people on the line at any given time. Robots do most of the assembly, including twisting wires and threading them through small recesses, while the workers simply feed the unfinished consoles onto the belts and then package the finished products.

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Image Credit: Nikkei Asian Review

Sony apparently started using this strategy in 2019, and it should help maximize production efficiency with the next-generation PlayStation 5 console lineup.

Starting this year, Sony will be manufacturing and producing four different PlayStation consoles across two generations: The PS4, PS4 Pro, PS5, and PS5 Digital Edition.