- It has been more than five months since the launch of the PlayStation 5 and it is still very difficult to buy.
- Despite regular replenishment, PS5 consoles sell out instantly on Sony and large networks.
- The console’s offer is not expected to meet demand until next fall, Sony said.
- Visit the Business section of the Insider for more stories.
When the PlayStation 5 launched in the fall of 2020, it was almost impossible to find.
Five months later, with spring in a few days, Sony’s popular gaming console remains as elusive as ever.
Although refueling has been frequent, demand for PS5 continues to outpace supply. And when refueling goes on the air, people overload the digital storefronts in a mad rush for maybe, hopefully, finally get a PlayStation 5.
Most of the time, they are faced with disappointment.
During a three-hour PS5 refueling marathon that Walmart divided into ten-minute intervals on Thursday, Insider repeatedly encountered errors or crashes when trying to buy the console. The item could not be added to the cart, or the site crashed while trying to load, or simply did nothing after clicking on an entry.
Each time, even when the site “worked” technically, the same result: the refueling was instantly depleted.
A replenishment of the PS5 was made available at 3 pm. By 3:01 pm, supplies were depleted.
Walmart
These problems were repeated by others who tried to buy the new console.
“I was able to add the PS5 to my cart, access it all the way to the payment method, and then he said the item was out of stock”, a Twitter user said.
“None of this is working”, another Twitter user said. “I keep trying and it [doesn’t] wants to let me put it in the cart. “
Those same errors and near-instant sales persisted at ten-minute intervals during the PS5’s three-hour replenishment stock at the Walmart web store.
In addition to the technical problems that retailers are experiencing and the huge consumer demand for Sony’s latest PlayStation console, many are still being wiped out by retailers – some of whom are using bots to beat human shoppers.
A quick look at retail sites like StockX demonstrates why: retailers are offering the PS5 for around $ 730 this week – a 50% increase over the $ 500 retail price of a PlayStation 5 model with a unit Blu-ray disc. On eBay, both versions of the PlayStation 5 cost $ 700 or more.
Top results for PlayStation 5 consoles in eBay’s “Buy Now” section.
eBay
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like Sony will be able to keep up with demand anytime soon.
In several interviews in late February, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan warned of a continuing supply problem that will continue until the second half of 2021.
“When we get to the second half [of the year], you’ll see really decent numbers, “Jim Ryan, head of PlayStation, told the Financial Times in February. Although the company” has been relentless in terms of trying to increase production, “he said, some obstacles are out of the company’s hands. .
The global microchip shortage and the ongoing global pandemic are affecting Sony’s ability to produce more PS5s, for example, but Ryan said the supply situation “will start to improve, hopefully very quickly.
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