As someone above pointed out, Sony is concerned about the entire 5 year cycle of the PS5, not just the current quarter or even first 18 months. There is also the need to maintain customer goodwill for the future PS6. There is already a fair degree of substituteability between a PS5 and Xbox. By the time the PS6 is out there will probably be a Steam Deck 2.0 and maybe something new with Nintendo.
It's far better to let the scalpers take the reputational hit.
It's far better to let the scalpers take the reputational hit.