Sony: don’t expect PS5 at retail come launch day

Camping out for the launch of a new console is one of video gaming’s most time honoured traditions. Well, at least among the handful of diehards who cannot bare a nanosecond to be without the latest shiny. However Sony is telling PlayStation 5 fans not to bother this time, as none will actually be available in stores at launch. At least for walk-in customers.

“No units will be available in-store for purchase on launch day (November 12 or November 19, depending on your region) – please don’t plan on camping out or lining up at your local retailer on launch day in hopes of finding a PS5 console for purchase,” a Sony representative said in a post on the official PlayStation Blog.

Sony is currently wholly focused on fulfilling online sales. However, they did say that those who pre-ordered through retailers should still be able to snag their brand new white waffle irons. Though they are advised to contact the shop to pre-arrange a pickup time.

This news is not entirely surprising following Sony’s PS5 botched pre-order rollout. Those consoles were snapped up in a matter of minutes, with many going to unscrupulous scalpers looking to pawn them off at grossly inflated prices. It’s also long been rumoured that Sony would not have nearly enough supply to meet demand. So it’s not as if gamers were even expecting retail stock to be available. Though it’s not exactly good news for all the Santas out there who are being pestered for a PS5 for Christmas.

So far there’s no word on exactly how long these shortages will go on for. Given the huge demand for the PS5 and Xbox Series systems, compounded with CCPVirus related logistics issues, it’s likely we could see a Wii scale event. Where months go by without one actually landing on store shelves for longer than a New Donk minute. At least it gives us gamers a good excuse to save up some money, and work through our backlogs.