PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X keep selling out. Here’s your holiday shopping guide

Mike Stunson
·2 min read

The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are among the hot-ticket items this holiday season, but shoppers are having trouble getting their hands on the elusive game systems.

Preorders began in September for the Xbox Series X and PS5, made by Microsoft and Sony, respectively. They quickly sold out, and they remained hard to come by earlier this month when the systems were released.

Can you get one during Black Friday week?

Theoretically, yes. Many retailers plan on selling the systems on their online sites throughout the week.

The Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 will be sold in “limited quantities” on Walmart’s website at 9 p.m. ET Wednesday, the retailer said. Walmart also said there will be more online deals Friday.

Best Buy said it will sell the systems online only in “limited quantities.” The company did not say what time the consoles will be made available.

Some consoles will be up for grabs at GameStop’s brick-and-mortar stores when they open at 7 a.m. local time Friday. Each store will have at least two consoles available for both systems, GameStop said.

If you’re hoping to buy one of the consoles online, prepare for nearly immediate sell-outs, which have often been the case since they became available.

As far as the PS5, Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Jim Ryan recently told Russian news outlet TASS “absolutely everything is sold.” The PS5 has appeared more limited in online stock, selling out quicker than the new Xbox system.

“I’ve spent much of the last year trying to be sure that we generate enough demand for the product,” Ryan said. “And now in terms of my executive bandwidth, I’m spending a lot more time on trying to increase supply to meet demand.”

Both consoles are available on eBay, but you’ll have to spend a pretty penny to secure one. The higher-priced PS5 and Xbox Series X are being sold at retailers for $499 but are often priced at more than $1,000 on eBay.

Video game website IGN offered tips for purchasing a PS5 on Black Friday, which can also be applied for Xbox purchases. It suggests shoppers log in to retailers’ websites and save credit card information before attempting to buy a system.

“The reality is that there are a ton of factors weighing on this console launch right now, from supply issues to massive pent-up demand and increased attention being paid to video games during lockdowns,” Forbes reported. “At some point, it will become easier to purchase a PS5 or Xbox Series X+S, but it’s likely going to take a little bit.”

Twitter accounts that offer updates about restocks include @PS5StockAlerts, @Wario64 and @IGNDeals, Inverse.com reported.

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