One of the most sought-after items this festive season could be a next-gen console, as stock of the PlayStation 5 and the Xbox Series X has been extremely limited.
From online retailers the consoles have sold out almost instantly, but physical stock available at GameStop stores did arrive in time for Black Friday. The only way to guarantee a purchase of one of the new consoles was to wait in line early, and for some dedicated gamers that meant securing their spot several hours — and in some cases days — before their local shop was ready to open up.
People have literally camped outside some GameStop shops:
While normal Thanksgiving shopping lines were almost nonexistent today, a few people are spending the night outside local GameStop stores, hoping to snag an Xbox or PlayStation.
Any guesses on what time the people in front got there? pic.twitter.com/fuycJrwoLi— Shelby Cassesse (@ShelbyCassesse) November 27, 2020
About 8 gamers are already standing in line at GameStop in Salinas to buy a new PS5 or XBOX, which of course, are super hot items right now this holiday season. Get this: THE GAMESTOP OPENS AT 7AM TOMORROW. It’s gonna be a long night for them! I get it though, I’m also a gamer. pic.twitter.com/of29GoK1DF
— Josh Kristianto (@JoshKION546) November 27, 2020
The first of 10 people in line outside of GameStop in #Walpole got here at 9:30 this morning. They’re hoping to buy the highly sought after PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. We’re told this is the scene outside game stores across the area with those consoles. #wcvb pic.twitter.com/9aU5l4XIlq
— Peter Eliopoulos (@petereliopoulos) November 27, 2020
While other people even went so far as to bring their beds with them as they braved the frigid winter air:
Sony faced “unprecedented” demand for the PS5 when it was released, with stock selling out almost as soon as it arrived and creating the “largest console launch ever” for the company. Over in the UK, the experience of buying a PS5 was soured by an army of bots that instantly snapped up any available units, allowing scalpers to resell the consoles at a massively marked-up price.
While the PlayStation 5’s launch has been bolstered by a strong lineup of games such as Demon’s Souls, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Sackboy: A Big Adventure, and Astro’s Playroom, the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles also make for a tempting purchase thanks partly to the incredible value of the Xbox Game Pass subscription service and its selection of games.
You can check out our Xbox Black Friday order guide for the best deals on the console and games for it, or if you prefer a Sony device our PS5 order guide will also have you covered with stock alerts that’ll keep you informed of when you can start camping out to grab one of the consoles for yourself.
