Esports presenter Kate Bedford argues that the demand for Playstation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles is already “huge”.
Desperate players saw a flash of hope on Friday, but were quickly thwarted by a digital stampede.
Microsoft’s new Xbox game consoles and Sony’s PS5 have been sold out since their debut last November. The anticipation for console updates, coupled with the coronavirus pandemic, which sparked a gaming boom, created scarcity and a social media network keeping players informed about who might be selling the boxes.
The news circulated quickly on Friday about the replenishment of Best Buy’s next-generation consoles, but the two disappeared as quickly as they arrived.
According to Tech Radar, Sony’s PS5 sold out in 29 minutes. CNET reported that Microsoft’s Xbox also sold out. CNET posted that Best Buy had stock for the units at around 12:30 pm ET, but within an hour a check on the Best Buy website revealed that both consoles were sold out.
A Microsoft spokesman said the company is seeing “overwhelming global demand” for the new console.
Xbox Series X (Microsoft)
“[We] we are working tirelessly with our manufacturing and retail partners to replenish Xbox hardware as quickly as possible – in some cases, more consoles will be available weekly, depending on the retailer and the market, “the spokesman told FOX Business.
Sony did not immediately respond to a request for comment on Friday.
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Other retailers had problems similar to Best Buy. Walmart explained in December, just a few days before Christmas, that it was fighting “Grinch bots”, or computer programs designed to grab those consoles as soon as they launch online and then resell them at a profit.
“Bot scripts are constantly evolving and rewritten, so we create, deploy and continually update our own bot detection tools, allowing us to successfully block the vast majority of bots we see,” Jerry Geisler, director of security at Walmart information, wrote in December.
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Twitter accounts with hundreds of thousands of followers have been set up to alert consumers when the PS5 it’s new Xbox are in stock.
In addition to the Grinch bots and the high demand driven by people trapped at home, the global shortage of chips and other manufacturing equipment is also partly to blame.
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President Biden signed an executive order this week to review the chip supply chain and address the shortage.
“These chips are a marvel of innovation and design that drives much of our country, allows much of our modern lives to continue – not just our cars, but our smartphones, televisions, radios, medical diagnostic equipment and more”, Said Biden when signing the executive order. “We need to make sure that these supply chains are safe and reliable.”