The PlayStation 5 was officially launched in November 2020, but the system has been extremely difficult to locate at a retail price. There have been two main factors that contribute: the global scarcity of semiconductors and resellers. Unfortunately, this last problem remains common in North America, Europe and Japan. According to Yahoo! Japan, PlayStation has devised a method to slow down things in that country, implementing the use of a sticker that applies to the PS5 box. When someone buys the system, the retailer removes the label and leaves a seal that indicates that the product is “open”.
Apparently, attempting to remove the “sold” seal can damage the box in which the system comes. The idea is that, by using this method, resellers will not be able to market the console as “new” on sites like eBay. Unfortunately, Yahoo! Japan says that Sony has not mentioned how big this release will be, or exactly when I could start. Even so, it is easy to see how this could help stop some resellers, or at least do something less lucrative. At this time, you can earn a lot of money with the consoles turned, and you do not know when it could end.
For Sony, there are many incentives to take energetic measures against resellers! Companies such as Sony and Microsoft tend to lose money with each console sold, compensating losses selling software. Resellers are not interested in buying the software that accompanies it, and those forced to pay a premium to obtain a PS5 will have less money to spend on the purchase of games that accompany it. The sooner you become less attractive for resellers, better for players and better for Sony.
Of course, this new method alone will not stop resenders, but it could help reduce financial incentive. Until PlayStation can begin to manufacture sufficient PS5 consoles to meet demand, it seems that safe betting resellers will remain a problem!
Have you already managed to secure a PS5? Do you think Sony is doing enough to fight the resellers of PS5? Let us know in the comments or share your thoughts directly on Twitter in @marcdachamp to talk about everything related to games!