PS5: Why the video game console is still so hard to find — and tips on how to score one – CBS News
When Sony debuted the PlayStation 5 in November 2020, supplies quickly sold out, while gamers battled bots to scoop up limited inventory. A year later, scoring one of the video game consoles remains a tall task, frustrating consumers.
“It’s the hot item. Your kids want it, and you want to make your kids happy and it’s exciting to say you got one,” said Michael Kan, a reporter at PCMag who has tracked the console shortage. “It’s going to be extremely hard, especially now — it’s really about how determined you are.”
The PS5 isn’t cheap: The digital edition sells for $400, while the Blue-ray console will set you back $500. And that’s if you manage to find one at the retail price. On eBay and other sites, resellers are marking up the consoles to $700 or more.
So why is the PS5 still tough to track down a year after its commercial release?
It boils down to the supply-chain problems, bots and the methods that retailers are using to sell the console, experts say. To be sure, it’s not only the PS5 that’s in short supply this year. Experts note that other gaming devices, such the Nintendo Switch OLED edition and popular graphics cards, can also be hard to find.
The supply-chain issues have taken a toll on production of the PS5, with Sony paring back the number of units it expects to make before March to 15 million from its prior goal of 16 million, Bloomberg News reported. The company has pointed to logistics snarls and parts shortages as COVID-19 hit regions where chips and other essentials are made.
Faster bots
Then there are the bots. These software programs are created to purchase in-demand products as soon as they go on sale. Because they’re automated, the programs can complete online transactions far faster than any human. And the bots have gotten faster and better since last year, Kan said.
“A year ago, it was so much easier to buy these products — you would at least have one minute” before the bots jumped in, he said. “But now, even if you get on during the first second of a restock, you still aren’t guaranteed getting a console. No one anticipated things would become so bad.”
Scoring a console is still possible, but it will take effort. For Steve Butterfield, a public policy expert in Augusta, Maine, who bought three PS5s this year (two were for friends), …….
Source: https://www.cbsnews.com/news/ps5-restock-how-to-get-a-playstation5-video-games/
