Sony spending big to fly PlayStation 5 consoles by air freight

Sony plans to ship PlayStation 5 consoles to U.S. retailers by air freight to ensure prompt availability at launch, Niko Partners analyst Daniel Ahmad notes.

Sony is spending extra to prepare U.S. retailers for the PlayStation 5's holiday launch. Instead of shipping new PS5 consoles to U.S. retailers by sea, Sony opted to ship supply by air freight, a much faster, but more expensive, shipping method.

According to Chinese media group Caixin (spotted by analyst Daniel Ahmad), PS5 shipments to the United States will begin in October via Delta Air Cargo. A fleet of Delta 747 planes will make the shipments.

Reports says that Sony is preparing to make up to 10 million PlayStation 5 consoles for FY2020, which ends on March 31, 2021. Sony has said PS5 production is proceeding smoothly and that manufacturing of specialized parts like the customized 7nm+ SoC from AMD are going well.

Analyst firm Ampere Analysis expects PlayStation 5 sales to break 5 million units globally in 2020.

Sony likewise has strong confidence in the PS5. The console is expected to raise PlayStation segment earnings to $23 billion throughout the Q3-Q4 period.

Sony has yet to reveal pricing on the PlayStation 5, but more info should come during its new console showcase on Wednesday, September 16, 2020 at 3PM EST.