Console Launch Availability

With the new consoles being available in two weeks, I’m wondering what the launch day(s) will look like. It’s beginning to seem like most places will only have them online, and Sony’s CEO has come out saying that the demand is quite high, so not every who wants a PS5 at launch will be able to get one. What are your thoughts on if they’ll be available for most people, and if you too want to get one then?

As someone who missed pre order, I’m really hoping to snag a PS5 off Best Buy, but I’m not too confident.

I was lucky enough to snag both consoles I wanted from Best Buy and I just got emails offering appointments as early as 6AM local time to pick them up on release days. Obviously can't be sure what that means, but if they are opening early to get preorders picked up, maybe they are expecting to have quite the rush? Good luck!

I wasn't originally planning to buy either console this year, but I may just give my $500 to whoever's willing to accept it at this point. Microsoft? Sony? Nvidia? Someone take my money.

If my experience trying to get a 3070 this morning is predictive, it will be none of the above.

@frytup: I am hoping that with the amount of pre orders the consoles have had, they’ll be a bit easier to find on launch. But this might just be wishful thinking.

I'm going to pick one up as soon as I find some stock. I have some time off in December and see that as my window of opportunity if I miss the first shot.

@captubaplayer: curious if you got both in the initial wave of pre orders, or later.

I got a Series X order in on Amazon on that first pre-order day. Of course, I also got an email saying that they can't guarantee their orders on launch day, so who knows if they'll actually have enough stock to actually deliver and if not whether there is some priority for who gets the available ones or if it's just random.

@jonnythan12: I got them on the initial wave/the first time they opened for both consoles.

Ignorantly I found myself wondering just how necessary owning the console was at launch considering I've only ever had a Gamecube and a PS2 at launch day, and it wasn't all that painful to wait for tax returns to get a PS4 a few months after release last go around. But something about some older favorites getting slight performance boosts and just dinking around a new UI feels like a real Treat Yourself™ sort of moment to cap 2020 for me and it's a little wild how impossible it is to come by a pre-order. I remember the frenzy surrounding the PS2 but I also don't remember actually getting one all that difficult.

I'm a little worried that the hypebeasts and their bots are going to make it very difficult for a very long time to snap one of these up, and any time I feel lucky and do a search the only results I get are eBay listings for $999.99 and over.

@inevpatoria: For me, the big game will be Demon Souls, but I also want one for like every other game since I have a base ps4 that is not holding up great.

I hadn't originally planned on it, but now with my family officially deciding to not see each other this holiday season, I decided I want to treat myself. So I am hoping to find a ps5 on Amazon (because I have about $200 in credit). But I also know that Amazon may be the hardest spot to snag one...

Yeah, it seems neither company is very confident in how available these things will be on launch day. Which I take to mean that either these things will be impossible to find at launch, and they're trying to ease people into that as gently as possible, or it'll be totally fine and they're just trying to drum up more excitement by telling people the product will be more limited than it actually is.

I don't remember a console launch like these two, that's for certain. They seemed almost reluctant to let the boxes out into the wild but the software line-up isn't that bad. At least compared with the last time around.

I'm very curious since I'm currently living in Europe in a country that historically doesn't favor consoles because of the game prices and where Xbox especially is a fairly unpopular gaming system. I'm fairly certain I'll be able to just get a Series X on launch day without pre-ordering but who knows.

If they have the console stock to support it, I'm considering the Xbox all access program. The deal is so good, the financial outlay is zero to start, and it'll completely replace my Xbox one in the entertainment centre due to the backwards compatibility so it might be an easy thing to justify to myself and my spouse.

@shindig: This is my first time actually paying any attention to a console launch, so I don't even know what early availability usually is like. I'd assume that online stock doesn't disappear in a couple minutes, but IDK.

Launch day hardware is generally a little hard to get, and every cycle gets worse. The last time I was able to just walk into a store and buy the hardware on launch was in 2001. Now granted that was the last unit on the shelf and I had been in nearly a dozen stores before hand but you get my point.

Remember for both the PS3/Xbox350 and PS4/Xbox1 it was very common for people to camp outside stores. Sometimes for multiple days in advance to secure a system. And even mid-sized to larger meto area stores would get maybe 15-20 units. Restocks used to be around every 2 weeks with half a dozen units on average per store. We'll see how COVID-19 impacts the retail experience here but I'm slightly optimistic that these things will be easier to buy as we get a week or two into December.

Though the market for this stuff is larger than it ever has been and putting limited quantities out before the holidays guarantees that it becomes an item for scalpers. /shrug