This past week saw the sudden launch of PlayStation 5 pre-orders across retailers. After weeks of PlayStation fans expecting weeks of lead-in to pre-orders, Sony instead opened them up just hours after confirming the PS5's price and release date. It was a mad dash to secure a pre-order and those who managed it felt the effort was worth it if only because they were secure in acquiring a PS5 for launch. Needless to say, those who pre-ordered through Amazon were not happy to receive an email on Friday that their pre-order may not be as secure as expected.
Friday afternoon, in an email believed to have been sent to everyone who pre-ordered a PS5 through Amazon, Amazon shared a warning. According to this email, it's possible that those who pre-ordered through Amazon will not be receiving a PS5 at launch. Amazon says that this is due to "high demand," which either implies that Amazon took more orders than it should have or that it'll be receiving less PS5s than expected.
Amazon then goes on to add that it will, "Make every effort to get the item to you as soon as possible once released." Given that Amazon users are given no specific idea of how long of a delay they might have, the implication is definitely that Amazon doesn't know the status of its PS5 stock or how pre-orders will work out. This may be due to any number of reasons, or it could be as simple as Amazon's shipping currently being unreliable.
As for what this really means for those who pre-ordered their PS5 through Amazon, it's as ambiguous as it sounds. It's possible, but unlikely, that everyone will get their PS5's by the console's release date of November 12. It's also possible that no one will receive their PS5 on November 12. That Amazon has sent this email to what appears to be every pre-orderer is what makes the situation so confusing.
PS5 pre-orderers still have the choice of canceling their pre-orders, of course, as Amazon allows that with relative ease. So if pre-orderers aren't confident in Amazon, they can try to acquire one through another retailer in the coming weeks. If they do get another pre-order, they can cancel their Amazon order and hope their new one is better.
The problem is that it's likely every retailer is going to have issues with PS5 pre-orders. Even storefronts where PS5s could theoretically be picked up instead of delivered may not receive their expected stock on time. The entire situation is very unreliable, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and US politics impacting deliveries. The chaos of next-gen's launch may be only just beginning.
The PS5 releases November 12.