Gamers have had trouble getting their hands on a PlayStation 5 since the console launched. Due to its status as a next-generation system, the PlayStation 5 seemingly sells out the moment it hits shelves, something both buyers and retailers can attest to. Places like Target, Walmart, and GameStop only ever have them in stock for a few hours — if even that. PlayStation Direct never even made it to the hour mark before it sold out of everything it had today.
In total, PlayStation Direct had its PS5 restock for all of 34 minutes before the wares evaporated. Potential buyers saw longer queuing lines than that. Nearly everyone that queued up to get their console got hit with an hour-long wait time or longer, even if they got in line near instantaneously or the moment that PlayStation Direct announced it had consoles to sell. All in all, it was as if PlayStation Direct never had any PS5's to sell in the first place.
In all fairness, PlayStation Direct apparently has some unique rules regarding how it queues people. According to TechRadar, the site, like others, provides a countdown timer for anyone waiting to buy a PS5 before the sale begins. Once the timer runs out, everyone gets launched into a virtual queue, where Sony then randomly chooses who gets to buy a PlayStation. Everyone else sees a queue screen displaying random wait times that range from a few minutes to an hour or more.
Regardless, the PlayStation 5 still sold out in a little over half an hour, meaning it's still as hard as ever to buy one for those interested, even after three months of it being available. While this is somewhat typical for newly released consoles, the PlayStation 5 likely takes a bigger hit due to the negative impact the coronavirus had on its production. Because of quarantines, the number of PlayStation 5 units created at launch didn't amount to what they normally would.
It seems only the passage of time will make buying a PlayStation 5 easier with the way things look. Here's hoping this will change sooner rather than later, but that doesn't seem likely considering how things stand right now. Unless Sony can crank out more units than it's currently producing, demand for the PS5 will have to go down to make it easier for people to grab one. Unfortunately, this leads to a catch 22, as the only way for demand to drop is for more people to have one.
PlayStation 5 is available now.
Source: TechRadar