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A console launch is always a special time in a gamer's life, having spent potentially years in anticipation for all the new games and technology headed their way. The PS5 has been one of the most highly anticipated console launches of all-time, with a solid lineup of launch titles leaving the fanbase ecstatic.
Naturally, fans worldwide expected that it would be tough to get their hands on a PlayStation 5, given the hype surrounding it. Compound that then with the ongoing restrictions brought on by the pandemic, ensuring the PS5 can only be sold online.
Amongst all the excitement, there has been the rise of a worrying practice, essentially ruining the PS5's launch for fans globally. This trend has to do with the apparent merging of "hype culture" and the video games industry.
Multiple parties' unholy alliance ruining PS5's global launch
"Hype Culture" essentially refers to the practice most prevalent in street apparel "drops." Meaning, buyers eagerly await the release of specific products such as sneakers, clothes, or accessories and buy them with the sole intent of re-selling.
This practice has evolved into a subculture obsessed with getting their hands on products and re-selling them at exorbitant prices. Bots have flooded online retail market spaces and are leaving no products for the average consumer to buy.
This has now crossed over to the gaming industry, with the PS5 launch ruined for average fans due to the massive presence of bots and resellers.
Bots flood online retail stores
"Scalpers" or resellers are essentially sitting on a massive pile of PS5s with no intention of actually taking one out of the box and playing it. This is hugely problematic and must be addressed by Sony or online retailers lest the console launch be killed altogether.
There have been several videos of potential buyers attempting to buy the PS5 as soon as they are re-stocked. Stock seems to sell out in mere seconds, which isn't likely to happen unless there are bots that have flooded the site.
Infamous UK reseller CrepChiefNotify has even admitted to using bots previously designed to purchase expensive sneakers as soon as they drop.
CrepChiefNotify, a team of 12 staffers, charges a subscription fee from its members so they can buy a variety of sough-after products that are being re-sold. Previously, the service would offer up the latest Yeezy or a Limited Edition Jordans, but they are now dealing with the PS5.
According to one of their tweets, the team has managed to secure 2500 PS5s. To which the community responded with a collective sigh and justifiable anger.
Fans in complete disarray as PS5 launch is essentially ruined
A console launch is a special time indeed. With the holiday season around the corner, many a buyer would have been looking to get themselves a PS5 for Christmas. Alas, it probably won't be the case for many.
Industry experts have suggested this shortage of stock will continue until the end of March 2021.
The PS5 costs $499 and the Digital Version $399, but re-sell console prices on sites such as eBay have gone north of $1000 quite easily. Some have even spotted numbers as high as $25,000, which is just about the most exorbitant amount of money one would pay for a video game console.
This "supreme-ification" of the console launch is hugely disheartening to those who looked forward to playing games like Demon's Souls or any of the excellent launch titles upon release itself.
It's hard to say what stand Sony must take on this issue, or whether the responsibility lies with the retailer to curb it, because as it stands, the PS5 launch has more or less been killed for the large part.
