PS5 Preorder Disaster Brings Sony Apology

If you’re trying to get the new PS5 for the holiday season, you might have some trouble (at least based on what happened this week).

After a preorder fiasco, Sony has issued an apology via Twitter, stating, “Let’s be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologize for that.”

The apology followed the chaotic preorder release of the PS5, where retailers hastily offered customers the chance to get their hands on one before it’s November release date.

PS5’s flew off the virtual shelves within hours, and many missed the opportunity to purchase one, even a few who already completed their preorders.

How Did It All Start

Last Wednesday, Sony announced the preorder release date for the new PS5 to take place on September 17th in a live stream event showing off their product.

However, instead of waiting for the release date, retailers offered customers early access for preordering. Walmart announced it’s early sale in a tweet, assuring excited fans that they didn’t have to wait. “Go on, preorder it NOW!”

Other retailers followed suit, and soon, GameStop, Best Buy, and Target all began opening up sales. Most excited customers were instead met with disappointment, getting broken links and out-of-stock notifications. GameStop even announced it’s availability online before they put a product page together for it.

In less than 2 minutes, Walmart’s preorders were completely out of stock. Most others sold out within hours. Some retailers began taking preorders out of carts as people went to check out, and some outright canceled already processed orders.

Amazon held off to opening orders a few minutes before 12 ET on the 16th, and by the time it was midnight on September 17th, they were sold out. Many Amazon shoppers that had managed to snag one got an email notifying them their orders may come a day late.

It’s clear that retailers jumped the gun on this one. With Covid impacting production and keeping people home, the supply shortage was met with high demand, creating the perfect storm. Not to forget that Sony did not provide enough notice to customers or retailers about the release date.

The situation didn’t start out promising anyways, as Sony established a registry for customers to be invited to preorder due to their short supply. But not everyone who signed up for the registry would get an invite.

Past Sony shoppers would get priority to receive an invitation. And getting an invitation did not guarantee a preorder. Invitations were put on a time limit, so if someone didn’t buy one in time, they’d lose their place to someone else.

It didn’t help that Sony denied a report by Bloomberg that they would have to cut production by 4 million units.

Microsoft has taken the opportunity to have a go at Sony, letting customers know they will “let you know the exact time preorders start” for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.

It’s still unclear if Sony will have enough supply to go around this holiday season, but they have announced they will be releasing more preorders within the coming days.