Well here’s a bit of a surprise: the console that is still extremely difficult to find in stock after launching in November last year – the PlayStation 5 (PS5) – has sold 10 million units globally to become the fastest selling console from Sony.

We have to add something of a provision here for those who have not been following the news: a big reason for the PS5 always selling out isn’t just immense demand for it, but also component shortages which have affected every electronics maker on the planet, as caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.

So when we say that the PS5 always sells out, a big factor is the amounts allocated to retailers and stores is usually very slim.

On the other hand we’ve seen bots and scalpers become increasingly co-ordinated and aggressive when it comes to hoovering up any stock that ever becomes available so maybe 10 million really shouldn’t be a surprise when a PS5 going on sale means that some automated software somewhere has already bought it faster than a human ever could.

Of these factors Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) mentions neither with no word about components shortages or scalpers being mentioned in the official announcement which states that the 10 million milestone happened earlier this month on 18th July.

SIE makes mention of the PS5’s new hardware, a solid line-up of games as well as the teams in place getting consoles into the market.

“Additionally, our Hardware Engineering and Operations team was vital in providing the resources to build the physical PS5 units and partnered with our global Business Operations teams to deliver PlayStation 5 from its origin point to markets and customers around the world. Both of these teams, and their tireless efforts, were absolutely critical in delivering 10M units during this historic year,” the announcement reads.

We have to assume that the “historic year” is a close enough mention of the pandemic and its challenges here and we agree with Sony – it must have taken a monumental amount of hard work to make and ship those consoles with everything else going on, so congratulations to those teams. We sincerely hope we all get raises.

Mention is made near the end of the announcement about the fact that some people, even now, struggle to get a PS5.

“We are incredibly grateful to our fans for the terrific reception of PS5 and our growing portfolio of gaming entertainment. Without your support and confidence, this early success would not have been possible. We are making steady progress with available global supply and can’t wait for the day when everyone who wants a PS5 can easily get one,” the announcement adds.

With the latest PlayStation experiencing its second end of year holiday period in a few months it will be interesting to see if there will be enough supply to meet demand this time around. Second time’s the charm and all that.

For those unfortunately still waiting to get their hands on one, see our launch review of the PlayStation 5 here.