Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. News

PlayStation 5 pre-orders were a complete fiasco

Giovanni Colantonio
By

Gaming fans who wanted to get their hands on a PlayStation 5 following yesterday’s price reveal livestream had a chaotic night, as piecemeal pre-orders for Sony’s upcoming console left many scrambling.

The problems started shortly after the stream ended, when Sony tweeted that pre-orders would start the following day.

Recommended Videos

That plan quickly went out the window when pre-orders began on Walmart’s website hours later. The console was sold out within minutes.

Related

As the night went on, several other retailers followed suit without warning. Retailers like Target and Best Buy put listings up, only to take them down just as quickly. To make matters more complicated, users experienced a host of problems when trying to order from these sites. Many reported that they were able to get the console into their cart, but were unable to checkout.

Things were even worse for those trying to buy from GameStop. People who went to the site’s PS5 page were greeted by an error message saying that users were “blocked” and unable to access the website.

Wow, you didn't have to take it that personally. pic.twitter.com/pEpBoDPHEA

— Geoff Keighley (@geoffkeighley) September 16, 2020

The situation is especially confusing considering that Sony had set up its own pre-order notification system weeks before. Fans could sign up to an email list to be notified when pre-orders were available, despite not knowing the price of the console. Those who signed up, however, didn’t receive an email from the account until hours after the system had gone on sale and sold out at various retailers.

Earlier this summer, Sony insisted that it would give fans a fair warning before pre-orders began. In an interview with Geoff Keighley during Summer Game Fest, PlayStation’s Senior Vice President of Marketing Eric Lempel assured fans that the company had a plan in place.

“I think it’s safe to say, we’ll let you know when pre-order will happen. It’s not going to happen with a minute’s notice. We’re going to at some point let you know when you can pre-order a PlayStation 5 so don’t feel like you have to run out and line up anywhere until you receive official notice on how that’ll work.”

Microsoft took the opportunity to add insult to injury by tweeting out the September 22 pre-order date for the Xbox Series X and Series X and adding, “Don’t worry – we’ll let you know the exact time pre-orders start for you soon.”

Digital Trends reached out to Sony and GameStop for comment and will update this story with responses.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Giovanni Colantonio
Giovanni Colantonio
Section Editor, Gaming
Giovanni is a writer and video producer focusing on happenings in the video game industry. He has contributed stories to…
PlayStation 6: release date speculation, price, specs, and more
sony reveals customizable ps5 dualsense edge controller front and back

In a recent quote, Sony Senior Vice President Naomi Matsuoka said: "Looking ahead, PS5 will enter the latter stage of its life cycle." Many in the industry took that to mean that we may be hearing about the next PlayStation console sooner rather than later.

Considering Sony has yet to break its naming convention, it feels safe to assume whatever future home console we get will be called the PlayStation 6. But not only has the name not been officially confirmed, but neither has the idea of a next-generation PlayStation console or even a PS5 Pro. It's almost a guarantee, but technically nothing is set in stone. Rumors and potential leaks have already started stirring up excitement, so let's see what the future of PlayStation may look like according to the rumors.
Release date speculation

Read more
Visions of Mana paints a promising picture of the RPG series’ return
Red-haired girl with horns and dragon wing in Visions of Mana

The vibrant settings and character designs in Visions of Mana instantly alerted me that I'd be knee-deep into fantasy, riding on the back of a giant black wolf into the grassy plains of Fallow Steppe. A lush landscape welcomed me as I chatted with my teammates on top of my mount and tussled with little woodland monsters.

I had this experience at this year's PAX East, where I went hands-on with a demo of the upcoming RPG. I never played previous Mana games, but I have enough experience with RPGs and real-time combat to name it one of the most gorgeous, action-packed games I played at the show. The shiny open-world and slick combat I experienced point to a strong comeback for the Mana series coming later this summer.

Read more
Mecha Break’s robot customization shakes up the battle royale formula
Mecha Break robot head with glowing blue eyes

Mecha Break isn't the kind of multiplayer game you can master right away.

You might equip a lance that you barely know how to use because it seemed like a good idea, and spend the rest of a round attempting to bash yourself into enemies to help your teammates. It incorporates action that's more similar to that of Armored Core 6: Fires of Rubicon than it is to the shooter-focused gameplay in Gundam Evolution, Bandai Namco's multiplayer mecha shooter that shut down last year. Overwatch does come to mind, but in a way where mechs are still the focus rather than the pilots within them.

Read more