Sony sets up kinda vague lottery for a chance to buy a PS5

Via Kotaku.

You sign up with your PSN account and next month you (maybe) get a chance to buy a console. As the article mentions, the fact that Sony is drawing names based on “previous interests and PlayStation activities” is at best weird and poorly defined, but seems like there's a pretty limited downside.

I prefer the lottery method with high demand products rather than the alternative of not being able to access a website because everyone else is trying to do the same at one time and it selling out after a couple minutes.

I don't know what Sony means by their stipulation unless they mean to give a higher chance to people who have shown they use a Playstation console rather than someone who just made a PSN account that day to potentially sell it off. But that leaves people who are first time PS buyers so who knows?

Sounds like what they did with pre-orders, which is how I got my PS5. I'm sure they just prioritize people by how much money they've spent on PlayStation stuff.

In the US.

They've been quietly sending invitations to PSN accounts for awhile now. Unfortunately it's a bit difficult to suss out what criteria they use to determine who gets one, but I suspect if you don't at least have an active PS+ sub you're out of luck.

I tried the lottery thing at launch and it didn't do anything for me, and I've bought and played a lot of games on Sony's consoles over the years. So yeah, who really knows how they pick the winners?

If any of you have Sony Rewards, you should take a look at the Sweepstakes Prize offer where you can use "25 reward points" for one entry.

And, since it a Sweepstakes...in the US....some of you might put two & two together about Sweepstakes laws to understand what a SASE would do for the cost of two stamps. Anyone? ....Anyone? Full rules on the website.

Last time they were running a variant of this with the queue system was how I nabbed mine, and I found it pretty easy too.

Feels like you would still be better off just trawling on stock checkers if you really wanted one.

yeah, i think this is probably just an expansion of what they've been doing awhile. i got this email in july; i presume it's a similar thing? i don't even remember if i had to opt-in or not.

Registered for this last week, got my notice I'd been selected for the queue yesterday, and just got my order in. Pretty surprised, honestly, as I didn't at all expect I'd be on the priority list. Maybe it's more random than I figured.

Coincidentally, just got a video card through the EVGA queue last week after being on that list for a year plus.

That's it for me. Done buying hardware for awhile.

PSA: I screwed up royally by not checking my email and missing the invite to purchase a PS5 back in November. (They only give you 24 hours' notice or less.) But yesterday I got another invitation and was able to purchase a console pretty easily this morning. I don't know if new people are still able to sign up, but maybe check your email if you were already registered for this. It might be based on whenever they receive a new shipment, and it's apparently still ongoing.

Good to hear, congradulations.

I think I got teh third email from Sony giving me a window to buy, and as luck would have ist I saw ist three hours before ist would be valid and I was going to be off work when that chance would coem up. So I was able to buy a PS 5 w/media dics system.

Sadly, this occured when my works life, home life, and future seem more cloudy. I hope that in the next few weeks I will have solutiosns (or mediation to) my other problesm so I can ENJOY my new purchase. Take care everyone. Please know that people care about you. Even when things seem difficult there are people rooting for you to succeed and prosper.

Really crummy that these consoles are not somewhat widely available. Especially after 2 years and people still having a heck of a time finding.

With these hardware shortages, either this gen is going to be super short or super long.

I gotten those emails though wish I had $500 to get one. Probably just save up till the end of the year.

Erm ... it's been just over a year. 14 months to be precise.

But either way, it's still a bummer that they're not easier to get :-(