PlayStation 5 pre-orders crash Singapore retailer websites; sells out almost immediately

Blame it on the pandemic affecting supply chains or blame it on technical issues, but either way, you won’t be getting your hands on a new PlayStation 5 (PS5) anytime soon if your pre-orders weren’t processed this morning. 

As soon as the clock struck 11am today (Sept 18), several websites — including the official Sony Singapore store — crashed from the flood of traffic driven by folks wanting to secure their entry into next-gen gaming when the PS5 drops on Nov 19. 

The hype kicked off yesterday morning after an official announcement made by Sony on the availability and pricing of their upcoming console. Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) Singapore then followed up with a confirmation that the PS5 will be available for online and offline pre-order today.

To the chagrin of local gamers, visiting sites like Sony Singapore and Qisahn brought up broken pages when pre-orders opened this morning. Both sites have since gone live again after getting temporarily downed. 

When queried by AsiaOne, SIE Singapore didn’t have any comment to make yet on the morning madness. 

Even if folks were able to circumvent the website crashes, it wouldn’t have made much of a difference. The consoles were said to have been sold out within seconds, with some customers getting slapped with an “out of stock” notice despite having the order in their shopping carts. 

The PS5 is officially sold out on various websites as of writing, with no official indication if the consoles will be restocked.

Qisahn did note, however, that new stocks could arrive in the middle of December.

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Already, scalpers are trying to make a profit out of the situation. Some sellers are claiming on Carousell that they’ve secured a set and are offering them up for sale. At bumped-up prices of course. 

Not getting to play on a PS5 on launch day can be a blessing though. There will be inevitable teething problems and bugs faced as an early adopter and it should take a couple of months for things to stabilise after a slew of software updates. 

There’s also the issue about the price tags — the cheaper PS5 model goes for $599 while the beefier model goes for $729. E-commerce site iPrice, however, expects the price to drop on May 2021, six months after the official PS5 release. Based on past patterns, Singapore gamers can potentially get a better deal if they’re willing to hold out just a bit longer. 

ilyas@asiaone.com