As the year kicks off, the phrase "out of stock" is being thrown around a lot in the gaming industry, and it's easy to see why. With the likes of newly released hardware being nigh impossible to get hold of whether its a PC player looking to grab a Nvidia RTX 3000 card or Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 consoles, they all continue to be highly sought after in these earlier parts of 2021.
While much of the world waits for retailers to get hold of supplies of PS5 consoles again, places like Japan are experiencing dire circumstances with retail employees having to deal with chaos among crowds. A recent report indicates that Japanese electronics chain Yodobashi Camera in Tokyo have been experiencing high levels of disorder as customers vie to get their hands on the new gen system.
Consoles will become easier to get hold of in time, but in places like Japan where there is some stock, it's been noted that nearly all retailers who have got PS5 consoles are having to issue lottery tickets. This system known as "chuusen" sets in motion a random distribution method, which is a similar system to one used for things like rare collectibles and concert tickets. This chuusen method is thought to be more fair, particularly as it aims to stop scalping and reselling tactics which have deployed in the past.
While crowds gathered peacefully in the initial stages, once staff brought out the PS5 tickets, the throng began to erupt into mayhem as people packed themselves into the store in the hope of getting hold of one. Despite most of the world still experiencing the Covid-19 pandemic and companies showing concern about hardware and software delays, this didn't seem to stop the desperate customers who began shoving into one another and shouting. Of course, the pandemic is part of the reason why stocks are in such short supply as online sales have been through the roof since much of the world has been in lockdown.
With what's happening in Japan being a sign of how much customers want a PS5, and scalpers using loopholes to buy up systems early, there's a good chance that getting hold of one is still going to be difficult for some time. The shortages of both the PlayStation and Xbox are an indication of just how popular the new consoles are, but it's likely many will have to stick with their previous hardware or go without until a plentiful supply is made more easily available.
Source: PSU