Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
Game on.. PS5 frenzy
Websites crash in rush for console Hustler selling machine for £20k
PLAYSTATION mania gripped Britain yesterday with websites crashing as people desperate to buy the latest console sent systems into meltdown.
Tesco, Asda, Amazon, Game and John Lewis were overwhelmed by a surge for Sony’s new Playstation 5 and within hours all had sold out.
John Lewis said sorry to shoppers unable to log on, adding: “The PS5 has been incredibly popular.”
Curr ys also sold out, saying: “There will be other chances in the lead up to Christmas.”
Parents keen to bag a PS5 for a festive gift now face paying up to £1,000 as unscrupulous sellers charge more than double the high street cost of £450.
Auction website ebay was flooded with hustlers trying to make a killing, one greedy opportunist offering a device for £20,000.
Despite lockdown , queues formed around the block outside Game stores nationwide, where those who had pre-ordered waited to pick up their machines.
In Liverpool more than 100 lined up from dawn to collect theirs and scores waited outside Westfield in Stratford, East London. Also in the capital, the entrances to Oxford Circus underground station were rebranded with logos from the PlayStation controller.
Meanwhile, Greggs offered gamers a Ps5-themed meal deal of sausage rolls and doughnuts for delivery.
Sony said the launch was a “day of celebration” ” for gamers and comes nine days after rival Microsoft’s Xbox Series X hit shelves for £449. Jim
I’m thrilled for the new worlds that players will experience JIM RYAN OF SONY ENTERTAINMENT
TARGET
Sony Playstation 5 costs £450
Ryan, Sony Interactive Entertainment president, said: “I’m thrilled for the new worlds that players will begin to experience today.”
But he was forced to defend the £70 price tag for certain games and insisted it was a fair price “if you measure the hours of entertainment provided by a video game”.
However, Sony was unable to comment on when the UK would get more supplies.
To date, Sony is the gaming king with 111 million PS4 consoles sold worldwide, compared with 51 million Xbox One devices.