Sony is letting US residents register for a chance to buy a PS5 this holiday season

[midian182]

Why it matters: Are you hoping to get hold of an elusive PlayStation 5 console this holiday season but worry that your chances are somewhere between slim and none? Sony is giving US customers a glimmer of hope by letting them register for its PS5 restock events.

Sony does emphasize that it will have only a limited amount of PS5 consoles available for US customers to purchase, so if you want the opportunity to receive an invitation to a restock event, sign up here without delay.

Anyone wishing to take part requires a US address and a PlayStation Network ID—you need to sign in to your PSN account—and must opt-in to receive marketing emails from Sony.

Doing this doesn’t guarantee you’ll get an invite. Sony says that its selection process is based on previous interests and PlayStation activities. While there’s some ambiguity as to what that means exactly, it’s probably to check that accounts aren’t newly created by scalpers with the sole intention of buying a PS5 then selling it for a fortune on eBay.

Can you put a price on your happiness or that of your child? Scalpers can

Sony also says that it is limiting PS5 console pre-order reservations to one per PSN ID—that’s one PS5 console or one PS5 Digital Edition, not both.

Starting from November 2021, those selected will receive an email containing a date, time, and instructions for purchasing a PS5 console. Invitees have a limited time to make an order reservation, the exact details of which will be included in the notification.

The PlayStation 5 has been one of the consumer products hit hardest by the chip shortage. AMD, whose custom SoC powers the PS5, believes the situation won’t start to improve until the second half of 2022. Back in May, Sony said PS5 production would ramp up in the second half of this year and that it “hopes” supply will improve this holiday season, but don’t hold your breath.

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https://www.techspot.com/news/91748-sony-letting-us-residents-register-chance-buy-ps5.html

 

[VitalyT]

A full year after release, and you still can't buy one - WTF?

The market has devolved, pushing crypto, releasing ghost products, selling at several time MSRP. It doesn't get much worse than this.

 

[winjer]

Imagine that the prize is to be able to pay for a PS5.
2021 is truly a remarkable year.

 

[QuantumPhysics]

A full year after release, and you still can't buy one - WTF?

The market has devolved, pushing crypto, releasing ghost products, selling at several time MSRP. It doesn't get much worse than this.

Nothing but facts.

 

[Nobina]

$2500 on eBay? I can find a bunch in Europe for around 550 EUR but not in retail.

 

[Dimitriid]

While we're waiting I wonder how are publishers going to react to this: Do you think they might shy away from PS5 and Series X features since the new console adoption will remain low for at least 2 full years but probably 3 or more? Do they think it's justified to keep charging a *base* price of 60 USD for what they decided last year should be the "last gen" version of the new titles?

I know it's unlikely to affect overall sales much: people will keep playing in whatever capacity they can, but what about game revenue, specifically coming from micro transactions and recurring subscriptions? I bet a lot of console players at least think about putting down a ton of money for not just the base game but special editions, content passes, microtransactions, etc. If they keep thinking "I will just get a PS5 as soon as I can afford/find one"

 

[scavengerspc]

Every time I see something like this I am reminded of just how good the PS4 and Xbox One still are.

 

[VaRmeNsI]

What people here don't seem to understand is something called inflation, and that governments printing money like mad for the last 18-24 months has caused this.

 

[Theinsanegamer]

What people here don't seem to understand is something called inflation, and that governments printing money like mad for the last 18-24 months has caused this.

Inflation is not helping the issue, but its also not causing the supply problems. Inflation+supply chain failure+lockdowns+political issues+long time coming failures are all adding to this.

While we're waiting I wonder how are publishers going to react to this: Do you think they might shy away from PS5 and Series X features since the new console adoption will remain low for at least 2 full years but probably 3 or more? Do they think it's justified to keep charging a *base* price of 60 USD for what they decided last year should be the "last gen" version of the new titles?

I know it's unlikely to affect overall sales much: people will keep playing in whatever capacity they can, but what about game revenue, specifically coming from micro transactions and recurring subscriptions? I bet a lot of console players at least think about putting down a ton of money for not just the base game but special editions, content passes, microtransactions, etc. If they keep thinking "I will just get a PS5 as soon as I can afford/find one"

I can guarantee devs are not going to be abandoning the PS4/xbone anytime soon, seeing as xbone games will run native on a series console with 0 effort and the PS4's marketshare towers over the PS5. The PS2 saw mainstream support for 2-3 years after the PS3 released.

Imagine that the prize is to be able to pay for a PS5.
2021 is truly a remarkable year.

Agreed. People should be taking this opportunity to reflect on how much we consoom and how little any of it matters. You could be spending that time building models, socializing with family, learning new skills, or reading. Instead people are chomping at the bit to get the latest bing-bing-wahoo machine.

 

[brucek]

Am I correct that there's no widespread use of PS5 consoles for mining purposes? Meaning, that the total allocation meant for gaming is in fact going towards gaming?

If so this makes the console situation fundamentally different than the desktop GPU situation. Scalpers may be raising the prices consumers pay, but they are not taking units off the market. Consumers are getting exactly as many units as Sony was able/willing to purchase silicon for.

This takes me to how scalpers are screwing things up, beyond the most basic sense. If the market was working right, the high prices consumers are paying on eBay to scalpers would instead be going to Sony. It would be worth Sony's while to use that a portion of that extra revenue to bid higher for available silicon. In a functioning market, this would move silicon away from lower value uses (as determined by what consumers will pay) and towards higher value uses (the PS5).

That said, I still think this is a great era to be a gamer. The newest eye candy is nice but it's not like the previous generation was hard to look at either. There's also been just so many good games over the past generation, anyone who is working their way through them instead of the latest is probably having a great time and saving a bunch of money too.

 

[wiyosaya]

Wow. You can register for a CHANCE buy one? WTF? Sounds like a way for Sony to gather names for its mailing list.

 

[NicktheWVAHick]

Now I need to “register” to buy a product? This just keeps getting better & better. What’s next, paying for a lottery ticket with the chance to win a spot in line at Best Buy on Black Friday?

 

[dangh]

Now I need to “register” to buy a product? This just keeps getting better & better. What’s next, paying for a lottery ticket with the chance to win a spot in line at Best Buy on Black Friday?

Really, u don't need to. There is no need for you to buy anything. And if you want to complain, complain to tmsc and other foundries.

 

[scavengerspc]

Wow. You can register for a CHANCE buy one? WTF? Sounds like a way for Sony to gather names for its mailing list.

If I was interested, I would just make a new, temporary email account.
Wait to see what happens, then close it.

 

[wiyosaya]

If I was interested, I would just make a new, temporary email account.
Wait to see what happens, then close it.

I'm right there with you. I pay $36/yr for https://sneakemail.com/ which lets me create as many potentially throw-away e-mail addresses as I want, and I use it for virtually everything. It forwards my e-mail to my "real" address. I only trust my wife with that address. Using that service, has kept me from being spammed numerous times.