UK government officials are moving forward with their efforts to curb what's known as "scalping" of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. Members of parliament still have several legislative hurdles to clear, but an effort that started late last year against bots who buy up PlayStation 5 and Xbox consoles is progressing.
The movement against next-generation console scalpers has been moving slowly through the process. The UK government is one of the first to try and curb the practice of using technology to scoop up dozens of PS5s and Xbox Series X consoles in the same amount of time it takes a normal consumer to try and add one to their cart. These "bots" are also able to purchase the devices before they're even made available to the general public. They then turn around and re-sell the units for hundreds of dollars more than the MSRP.
Near the end of 2020, Douglas Chapman MP filed what's known as an Early Day Motion to discuss the issue of PS5 scalpers. Chapman told IGN on Monday that the motion collected 32 signatures and he now intends to move forward. He cited experts in the electronics field who believe the scalper practice is going to spread to other aspects of the goods and services industry as a key reason why he thinks he can get legislation through Parliament.
Early Day Motions are often used to highlight a problem such as PS5 and Xbox Series X/S scalping but don't often lead to a debate in the House of Commons. Chapman said that bringing a bill would signal an escalation. It would also be considered added pressure on the government in hopes that scalpers could be eventually outlawed.
Chapman said the issue first came in front of him after constituents contacted his office with their frustrations over being unable to purchase a next-generation console prior to Christmas. He said his office started investigating what was going on and eventually landed on the scalpers buying PS5 consoles in bulk and selling them for quite a bit more than they were worth.
Scalping isn't a brand new problem in the gaming and technology world but it's gotten new attention with the launch of two new consoles, as well as new graphics cards from Nvidia and AMD all launching within a few weeks of each other. The problem isn't limited to the UK either. The same problems have been reported by consumers in the United States and other parts of the world, though the United Kingdom is one of, if not the first country to move this far towards legislative action against PS5 and Xbox Series X/S scalpers.
Source: IGN