There was absolute confusion at a Tokyo retailer overnight, with the arrival of new sub-supplied PlayStation 5 stock. Since launching in November last year, Sony’s new console is almost impossible to find worldwide, but Japan has been on the cutting edge, with hardware sales lagging behind even the Nintendo Wii U aligned to launch.
Kotaku reports, however, that the Yodobashi Camera electronics megastore in Akihabara sold a lot of new systems today – and hell started. We don’t even need to describe the scenes, because you can see them yourself, courtesy of the embedded video below:
In the end, things got so bad that the police were called and sales of the system were suspended. So what happened? Well, obviously, as already pointed out, the stock is reduced. But that was compounded by the fact that the Yodobashi Camera’s Akihabara branch in question does not require the use of the retailer’s black credit card to buy hardware – a regulation implemented to help prevent money changers.
In addition, the store distributed numbered tickets on a first come, first served basis to potential buyers. In the past, sweepstakes were offered, where those who had their called number had the opportunity to purchase a system. Obviously, all of these circumstances contributed to the scenes you see above.
It is important to note that all of this occurred at a time when the Japanese government implemented a state of emergency due to the ongoing pandemic, and Tokyo is, unsurprisingly, the most affected city in the country.