People Can’t Wait to Get Their Game On
The ongoing COVID-19 epidemic has caused a lot of issues, and one of those has been distribution – which is a big deal considering the fact that 2020 saw the release of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X/S. While the PS5 managed to pull off the biggest console launch of all time – at least in the US – that doesn’t mean that everyone got their hands on one – to the disappointment of many. While some of us lucked out and got our hands on a console – and, in some cases, both – many more are waiting for any restocks, hoping to get their hands on one before scalpers walk away with everything – a battle that sees the consoles being sold on eBay within minutes at twice the price.
Carnage bots doing better than ever from @GAMEdigital‘s PS5 stop drop this morning. Really sad. I want a PS5 badly but refuse to fund scalpers so will just have to wait it seems. pic.twitter.com/BsvMOwSyQZ
— Rachel Dacre (@Stingrach_) January 19, 2021
One store in Tokyo managed to get a fresh restock, and tried to do the best thing to get it directly in the hands of the gamers, utilizing a lottery system where only a specific number of the people in line would be selected to purchase the console. While this would no doubt disappoint avid gamers who got in line early, it would also mean that scalpers can’t do the same thing for their own profit.
Unfortunately, the situation soon descended into chaos, with shoppers desperate to get their hands on the few hundred tickets which would let them get their hands on the elusive console predictable surging forward – in the middle of a pandemic, no less. Within minutes, Tokyo Police were called to break up the crowd and the sale was canceled – leaving a couple more unhappy shoppers without their PS5’s.
So, will things get better? Eventually. The one positive of so many scalpers bragging about their methods is… well, it’s harder to use the same trick twice. UK retailer Argos recently had scalpers access their entire stock prior to them going on sale by accessing the URL’s before they went live. Until then, you have to be patient – and for everyone’s sake, please don’t put yourself, or anyone else, at risk to try and get one.
They cancelled the sale due to people being insane!! Pushed so hard even the cash registers and staff went backwards. I’ve never seen that kind of insanity in japan before…
— Dave Gibson ⠿ POKEMON🗼 (@AJapaneseDream) January 30, 2021
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