The day has finally arrived: The Nvidia GeForce RTX 5090 and 5080 are now available for purchase…I know, I make it sound so easy. We've known for a while now that launch day supplies will be extremely limited, and so retailers have tried to manage expectations accordingly. Unfortunately, even the best-laid plans frequently don't survive contact with the general public.
As is not uncommon for in-demand hardware launches, Japanese hardware chain PC Koubou attempted to deploy a lottery system to manage demand for the 50-series cards and discourage scalping. However, a number of locations are rethinking this strategy after chaos erupted at the Akihabara store during an earlier lottery (via Videocardz).
At about 15:00 local time on January 30, a raucous line crowded the Chiyoda city location and nearby streets, with customers queuing in the hopes of even getting a chance to buy one of the new 50-series cards. People were also allegedly seen climbing the fence of a nearby elementary school, defacing the establishment's sign in the process.
