The PlayStation 5 should be easier to find from now on, says Sony
(Picture: AFP/Getty Images)Gamers, rejoice: the PS5 shortage is officially over! That’s according to Sony Interactive Entertainment’s CEO, Jim Ryan, who shared the news during the company’s CES presentation.
“Everyone who wants a PS5 should have a much easier time finding one at retailers globally, starting from this point forward,” Ryan said.
That’s little consolation for those who tried and failed to find a console in time for Christmas but should be handy for those who settled for IOU notes.
Assuming it’s actually true, of course. We had a dig around to see how easy it is to source a PS5 in London today. The long and short of it? Pretty straightforward but generally easier if you’re prepared to pay extra for a bundle. Though, at the time of writing, Amazon has the disc-based console bundle-free for £479.99 and even the Digital version is in stock for RRP.
Can I buy a PS5 today?
Yes. If you have half a grand sat in your account doing nothing you can easily pick up a PS5 today – but you certainly don’t have the flexibility that Ryan’s comments imply.
You can order a PS5 bundle with God of War: Ragnarok for speedy collection from Argos stores in Holborn, Westminster, Cheapside, Islington, Tottenham Court Road and more.
If you don’t want God of War though? You’re out of luck. Argos has neither the basic console or digital version in stock. And because it’s a digital copy of the game, you can’t just trade it in either (Ebay has plenty of people trying to offload theirs at the time of writing.)
It’s a similar story at John Lewis and Currys, with the latter not even listing non-bundled consoles on the site. But, if you’re quick, Amazon has a bundle-free PS5 available for delivery at £479.99.
What about the Digital Edition?
The £389 Digital Edition without a disk drive has been hard to find from day one, even by PS5 standards. At first, that didn’t seem to be improving, but in the last few minutes Amazon has listed the console at its RRP of £389 – a drop of over £200 on its previous ridiculously inflated price.
That’s a very promising sign, but you may still want to act fast. At launch, Eurogamer was told by retailers that between 75 per cent and 80 per cent of stock received was of the disk-based version. It sounds as if Sony just isn’t making that many digital consoles.
Why is availability improving?
It’s not exactly clear whether this change is down to wider availability of components or softening demand for the PS5.
In December, Ryan did indicate that the supply issues were resolved in Asia and that should have a knock-on effect on global availability.
But trying to sell expensive hardware in the midst of a cost of living crisis with sky-high electricity prices isn’t exactly ideal – especially when Sony has already had to increase prices once.
In August, Sony raised the price of both the digital and disk-based consoles by £30 apiece. In other words, even if you can find an unbundled PS5 at RRP, you’re looking at £389 or £479. That’s quite a big ask when the energy price cap rose to £4,279 earlier this month.
How is the PS5 doing?
At this point, 26 months after launch, about 30 million PS5 consoles are under televisions around the world, Sony claims. That means it’s close to a fifth of the way to beating the all-conquering PS2’s lifetime sales of about 157 million units.
But the PS2 didn’t arrive with the one-two punch of a global pandemic followed by a cost of living crisis. With that in mind, just beating the Xbox Series X and S (an estimated combined 20 million so far) and catching the PS3 (about 87 million units) could constitute a win for Sony.
