By Jack Callahan
Sony’s new next generation console, the PS5, was officially released in North America on November 12th starting at $399 for the digital edition and $499 for the HD Blu-Ray Disc Drive version and was immediately sold out by all major retailers that day. Pre-orders were available for the console starting on September 17th, but were quickly closed after they had received the maximum amount of preorders.
Customers who were not able to get their pre-order in on time were still given the chance to purchase a PS5 by going to retailers as soon as they opened on release day and buying from their very limited stock. Most of the Playstations at each store were allocated to customers who had placed their order months in advance, but a small portion were available to the first customers that came in. Stores also accepted more pre-orders on release day in anticipation of getting more consoles in stock soon, but orders were very limited and may take a few weeks before they are delivered.
John Vanacore, a North Attleboro resident, was one of those people who was able to place their order on release day and received his Playstation on Monday, November 16. He said, “I wasn’t able to place my preorder back in September before they quickly stopped taking more so I decided to show up at Walmart as soon as they opened and hoped to get lucky.” Vanacore elaborated, “Unfortunately I wasn’t able to get it that day but I was able to place an order and picked up the console the following week.”
Many people who were able to get their hands on the new console bought them to sell at a higher price online. You can find PS5s on Ebay for upwards of $1500. With such a high demand for the new console and a very limited supply, some eager customers are willing to pay this price rather than wait.
Ben Callahan of North Attleboro is instead waiting until the PS5 becomes more readily available and the price of the console drops. “There is absolutely no way I am going to pay $1500 for a PS5,” he said, “I’ll just wait a few weeks or months until more are produced so I can save money.”
Exactly when the Playstation will be readily available is not known as of now. What is known is that retailers are offering orders on and off through their websites. If you are really eager to get a PS5 soon, continue to check sites like Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart and Gamestop over the course of each day and you might get lucky enough to be able to place your order.
It is also likely that retailers are holding onto their stock until Black Friday on November 27th in order to draw more people to their stores. So if you can’t place your order online before then, check out stores in person to get your hands on one. Though it’s likely other customers will have that same idea, so it’s a good idea to show up early to secure your purchase.
The First Launch 