The PlayStation 5 is finally upon us, but it’s not a launch that’s been completely without controversy and difficulty. While Sony has undoubtedly launched one of the best consoles of its kind, there’s also no doubt that it’s been incredibly difficult to get hold of, which isn’t the kind of news gamers want to hear just before a major holiday like Christmas. Of course, a lot of the delay has been down to the coronavirus pandemic; the situation has meant that some pre-orders haven’t been fulfilled, and some stores haven’t received stock when perhaps they would have under normal circumstances. It’s inevitable that a situation as widespread as COVID-19 would impact PS5 production, but it’s still a shame.
With this in mind, you might be asking yourself whether or not you’re going to be able to get a PS5 in time for Christmas. At time of writing, there are only eleven days to go until Christmas, and getting a PS5 in time for the holiday might be of paramount importance to you if you’re an avid gamer. Alternatively, you might have a child or other member of the family who’s desperate to play some of the excellent launch day line-up like Demon’s Souls, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, or Assassin’s Creed Valhalla. Read on if you want to know whether it’s likely you’re going to get a PS5 during the closing days and weeks of what has been a pretty terrible year for many of us.
PS5 stock is very, very limited
Let’s get the very bad news out of the way first: there’s probably only a remote chance at best that you’ll get a PS5 if you don’t already have your name on a pre-order. Many retailers – in the UK, at least – have confirmed that there won’t be any more stock of the console prior to Christmas. This includes major outlets like Game, Argos, and Box, as well as many others. Unfortunately, that means heading into one of your local electronics retailers or browsing their website isn’t likely to yield results if you’re looking to get a PS5 before the end of 2020. We knew the console was going to sell fast, but we didn’t know it was going to be quite this popular, even when it was announced with a vastly superior line-up to Microsoft’s console.
You can expect delivery before Christmas
If you were lucky enough to get your hands on a PlayStation 5 (which would necessitate you either having an incredibly quick trigger finger or simply being extremely fortunate), don’t worry. Your console will almost certainly be delivered before Christmas if it isn’t with you already. That doesn’t apply to certain orders placed after a certain date, though, so make sure that you check with the retailer with whom you’ve ordered the console for an up-to-date delivery estimate. However, most retailers will be honoring pre-orders placed at least prior to December, if not later. If your console is taking some time to arrive, make sure to contact the retailer’s customer service department (if they haven’t already updated you) in order to get the latest on the situation.
More PS5s will be arriving in early 2021
Most retailers are now saying they’re not expecting PS5 stock to arrive until early next year. However, that means that if you can hold out until then – if you don’t mind being disappointed this Christmas, or if you’re happy to wait – then you’ll almost certainly have a much better chance of being able to secure a PS5. After all, the more units there are out there, the less chance there is of scalpers being able to make a profit or of your order being pipped to the post by a quicker customer. Gradually, supply will catch up with demand, and the PS5 will be a much more widely available machine. Launch has always been a tricky proposition for PlayStation consoles, so if you can weather this initial storm, you’ll find much more smooth waters ahead.
Many PS5 games are also hitting PS4
If you absolutely can’t wait for games like Spider-Man: Miles Morales or Horizon Forbidden West, then you’ll be glad to know that a lot of games slated for the PS5 are also going to be coming to the PS4. The aforementioned two games, for example, are hitting both the PS4 and the PS5, as are Call of Duty: Black Ops – Cold War, Assassin’s Creed Valhalla, Gotham Knights, and many more games you might be excited about. For some games, it will be worth waiting for the PS5 versions, but many of these games – if not all of them – will be offering some kind of free upgrade at next-gen launch anyway. If it’s just the games you want to experience, then you don’t have to wait as long as you didn’t immediately sell your PS4 in hopes of getting a PS5.
You can still get PS5 accessories
This last point may not mollify some gamers, but you can still buy PS5 accessories from many reputable outlets. The PlayStation 5 controller does actually work on PC, and although there have been varying reports as to the efficacy of its vibration and haptic triggers, you can definitely use the controller as a device on the PC. In addition, many PS5 devices – including the DualSense controller, the Pulse 3D wireless headset, and more – will work on PS4, too, meaning you can make the initial investment now and then be even more ready for the PS5 when you do manage to get one. Don’t worry if you can’t have the full PS5 experience right now, because there will be plenty of opportunities to use the console’s fantastic range of accessories on your existing hardware!