PS5 Bundles Will Be Available At GameStop Starting Thursday After Reports Of Worldwide Shortages
GameStop is reportedly going live with new PS5 bundles on Thursday afternoon, giving gamers a chance at snagging the hard-to-find console after reports of worldwide shortages.
As Comic Book reported, GameStop announced on Thursday that it would have PS5 bundles in stores starting at 3 p.m. EST. However, some of the locations have quickly sold out while other stores still have them available. The report added that Walmart was also putting its latest stock of the newest PlayStation offering on shelves starting at 3 p.m. EST.
Per Comic Book, gamers looking to buy the console by itself will be out of luck, at least right now.
“As for GameStop, it looks like the stock is limited to bundles, which means you will be paying more than $400 and $500 in exchange for games, PlayStation Plus subscriptions, and more,” the report noted. “At the moment, there’s no option to buy the console itself, which is unfortunate for those on a budget, but it should discourage scalpers as well, as it will likely eat into their profit margins.”
But shoppers may need to act quickly if they want to get their hands on the PS5. ComicBook explained that units have been selling out quickly across the country, and it was not clear when GameStop or other outlets would have them in the stores again.
While gaming fans across the country have complained about the difficulty of purchasing the PS5, Sony has reportedly insisted that there are no shortages. As TechSpot reported, the company had initially estimated to ship at least 10 million units during the busy holiday shopping season, but reports in September indicated that the production run was cut by close to 4 million.
Despite Sony’s apparent insistence that there is enough stock on the market, TechSpot reported that there were only 118,000 PS5 consoles sold in Japan, with no plans to sell any more until 2021.
The scarcity has made it difficult for buyers to find them, and created an underground market for those buying and re-selling them, the outlet added. That has led to suggestions that these scalpers have been able to get their hands on an outsized number of units.
“Scalpers are getting top dollar for the high demand item on third-party selling sites like eBay. There are pages upon pages of PS5 auctions on eBay fetching nearly $1,000 per unit regardless of whether it is the standard or digital version,” the report noted, adding that one digital version was sold for $2,025 online.
