Skip to main content

PS5 deliveries via Amazon lead to surprises for some U.K. customers

Imagine a delivery driver turning up at your door with that PlayStation 5 you ordered. Exciting stuff, right? Now imagine tearing open the box to find not the much-sought-after gaming console but instead a large bag of rice. Or a Nerf gun.

A number of customers in the U.K. claim to have experienced this bizarre outcome after the PS5 launched there on Friday, November 20, with all of the erroneous deliveries apparently the result of orders placed with Amazon.

Recommended Videos

Journalist and presenter Bex May was one of the first to hit Twitter to share her tale of wrongful delivery after she received an air fryer instead of a PS5 console …

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Happy #PS5 day everyone. Tried to document our one’s unveiling, but Amazon have tricked us with an unsolicited air fryer instead (after giving delivery password). Anyone else had this problem today? pic.twitter.com/99IUSzSJUU

— Bex April May (@bexlectric) November 19, 2020

London-based Adam Sullivan fared no better, happening upon something that most definitely was not a PS5 …

So went to open my PlayStation 5 that I ordered from @AmazonUK and found this! Some one has replaced it with rice!I wish I was joking! Pls RT! pic.twitter.com/VcSNce4Zgo

— iamadamsullivan (@iamadamsullivan) November 19, 2020

Another claimed to find cat food instead of the $500 Sony gaming console that they ordered, while someone else said they received a Nerf gun.

It’s not clear what’s going on, suffice to say that either at the warehouse, or at some point after, there are some very weird shenanigans taking place.

A spokesman for Amazon U.K. told The Guardian: “We’re all about making our customers happy, and that hasn’t happened for a small proportion of these orders.”

He added: “We’re really sorry about that and are investigating exactly what’s happened. We’re reaching out to every customer who’s had a problem and made us aware so we can put it right. Anyone who has had an issue with any order can contact our customer services team for help.”

Sony’s PlayStation 5 has been selling out around the world as gaming fans clamber to get their hands on the popular machine. The latest version of the PlayStation console has been winning rave reviews, with this site, for example, awarding it four-and-a-half stars out of a possible five for its attractive design, speedy hardware, and excellent load times. It certainly performs better than a bag of rice.

Digital Trends has reached out to Amazon to try to find out more about what on earth is going on and we will update this article when we hear back.

Trevor Mogg
Contributing Editor
Not so many moons ago, Trevor moved from one tea-loving island nation that drives on the left (Britain) to another (Japan)…
PS5 vs. Xbox Series S
ps5 vs xbox series s release date 710x400

Between the regular PlayStation 5, PS5 Pro, Xbox Series X, and Xbox Series S, buying a current-gen console is not as simple as it once was. However, you do need to make the right choice if you want to play the best PS5 games or best Xbox Series games, which is the most important factor in a gaming machine. Sure, many games are now cross-platform, but not all of them. We compared the PS5 to the Xbox Series X already, but what about the S? Let's pit Sony's console against the smaller Xbox and see which one is worth it for you.
PlayStation 5 vs. Xbox Series S: specs
Right off the bat, we need to point out that the PS5 and Xbox Series S are aimed toward slightly different audiences, and their specs do differ a considerable amount. The PS5 is aimed toward a "premium" audience looking for high-end visuals and performance, while the Series S is presented as more of an affordable option to get as many players on board as possible. You'll notice the PS5 is a more powerful system in many ways than the Series S, but that doesn't necessarily mean deciding between the two is easy. When it comes to specs, both offer custom SSDs (solid-state drives), meaning games and apps will load incredibly fast. This is a huge upgrade from the current generation's HDDs (hard disk drives), which are starting to show their age as games become much larger in scope.

The main difference between the two on the surface is that the Series S lacks a disc drive, while the standard PS5 will accept 4K UHD Blu-Ray discs. This could be a major factor for some, especially those with less reliable internet connections. The standard PS5 will cost more than the Xbox Series S, and a lower price point could prove to be the most enticing factor when choosing one over the other.

Read more
Your video game consoles could become much more expensive soon
A PS5 Pro sits on a table with a DualSense.

People have a lot of questions about what a second Donald Trump presidential administration will look like, and one of the big concerns surrounds proposed tariffs on foreign imports, with larger ones targeted for China. If these are passed, it could signal a big change in how video game hardware and software is manufactured and could lead to increased costs for players.

Digital Trends spoke to analysts about the potential impact that tariffs could have on tech like game consoles. As of this writing, the proposal is to implement a 10% or 20% tariff on all imports, but a specific 60% tariff on Chinese imports. Some analysts we reached out to declined to comment on the impact of the tariffs because while Trump has discussed a plan, it hasn't gone into effect and might not. Others, like Serkan Toto of Japanese games industry consulting firm Kantan, warned that consumers could be the ones paying the cost if plans go into effect.

Read more
All upcoming PS5 games: 2024, 2025, and beyond
Team up abilities in Marvel Rivals

The PlayStation 5 has been out for some time now, and its reception has been mostly positive. It includes lots of quality-of-life improvements over its predecessor, the PlayStation 4, such as faster load times, a solid-state drive (SSD) instead of a regular hard disk drive (HDD), and an improved controller in the form of the new DualSense. However, a console is only as good as the games available on it and, thankfully, the PS5 has you covered on that front as well.

While the machine already has a worthy library of great PS5 games, there are even more to look forward to — most of the best upcoming video games are going to hit PS5. Some will be completely free PS5 games, some will be PS5 exclusives, and others will be completely cross-platform so you can play with friends on Xbox, PC, and Switch.

Read more