Sony's 12,300 PS5 30th Anniversary Consoles Aren't Enough—Here’s Why Fans Are Furious
By Ed Malaker
Sony has been facing significant challenges with the recent release of their PlayStation 30th Anniversary Edition, which fans have been anticipating for months. The biggest of these is the limited availability of consoles.
The limited availability of the PlayStation 5 30th Anniversary Edition has upset fans.
Sony only released 12,300 units of the anniversary edition PS5, making it nearly impossible for many fans to secure a pre-order. This ultra-limited stock sold out within minutes, leaving many eager buyers frustrated and empty-handed. In some regions, fans spent hours in queues only to leave the location without the product they had been eagerly anticipating.
Scalpers have only made the situation worse by listing the consoles on platforms like eBay at extremely high prices. Some reports claim the console exceeded $6,000 in some cases.
PlayStation has had to cancel some pre-orders, causing confusion among buyers.
Some customers who managed to place orders are now receiving cancellation notices, which Sony has attributed to payment processing issues. However, they can also be due to fraud prevention systems that flag high-priced consoles as suspicious.
Customers are complaining that Sony is not clear about the reason for the cancellations. This issue has left many customers confused and frustrated, and before they could sort it out, the consoles sold out.
Scalping and bots have made it harder for genuine fans to purchase the console.
Scalpers using bots managed to scoop up a significant portion of the stock. They have turned to the resale market to make a profit by selling the consoles at inflated prices, leaving many fans unable to afford them.
While fraud systems have been able to shut down some of the offenders, there are plenty of systems that remain for sale at high prices.
Why did Sony release so few units?
Sony released so few units of the PlayStation 5 30th Anniversary Edition as part of a deliberate strategy to create an ultra-limited, collectible product. Only 12,300 units went on sale globally, creating a highly exclusive commemorative piece for long-time fans.
However, this approach has led to considerable backlash, especially from fans who spent a lot of time in a queue only to be turned away.
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