Some days, you've got everything planned down to the minute. You're gonna be productive, you're gonna hit those deadlines, you're gonna work your ass off and feel good about it by quittin' time. And then, sometimes GameStop does a surprise drop of the in-demand and under-supplied PS5 and it derails your whole day. But it'll be worth it, right? So what if you don't want that overpriced bundle... This time you'll get that PS5 for sure!
Does this sound familiar? It should, especially if you're still searching as of this writing. Even those lucky folks who managed to secure a PS5 by pure luck, happenstance, hooked-up personal connections, overpriced gougers, or some combination of the above know that FOMO feeling. It sucks. And retailers seem all too happy to continue making the process as confusing and frustrating as possible for just about everyone involved. (Yeah, yeah, supply and demand, Capitalism, etc., I hear you.) It's so ridiculous, in fact, that a cottage industry of restock experts have cropped up over the better part of the last year, most of whom are doing their level best to help people get their PS5s through the tips and tricks they've cobbled together. And it's thanks to folks like Jake Randall and Matt Swider that us Normals have any shot at all in this increasingly bizarre game of chance.
For today's GameStop PS5 restock, I owe a hat tip to Randall for both the heads up and for some expert tips on how to (try to) land one at long last; this isn't an official endorsement, just an anecdote from today's frustrating experience (for me personally; plenty of others had much better luck.)
Today's surprise drop was a prime example of how crazy GameStop and other retailers have gone with this PS5 restock game. News of the drop broke roughly 15 mintues before a pair of bundles went live. The bundles themselves were half again the price of the base system (including games like Hitman III, Returnal and MLB The Show 21, and/or a GameStop gift card) and, honestly, weren't that attractive beyond the base console and two controllers. You had to do some sleuthing just to find them; doubly so to figure out how to actually add said bundle to your cart. And if you were lucky enough to get past that particular step, you then had to navigate the overwhelmed GameStop servers and payment processing centers, which were RNG-heavy as to whether you'd win or lose in the end. A friend of mine won, I lost; so it goes.
However, I was far better prepared for this round of PlayStation 5 roulette thanks to Randall's advice. Conventional wisdom may tell you to log into your retailer account, use your approved and pre-registered credit card, and try to check out via your PC's relatively speedy internet connection. That's almost completely backwards in the case of GameStop, where Guest checkouts, Paypal payments, and mobile transactions are the speedier solution. But that doesn't necesarily mean that it'll work for every retailer... or even for GameStop itself.
For all the super excited success stories that pour in, those who miss out are still the overwhelming majority:
Thankfully, here at Collider, I have quite a few co-workers who are luckier in life than I am and can field your PS5 reviews for the foreseeable future. That's good considering that Sony has opted to increase their PS5 console exclusive titles, like the upcoming Final Fantasy VII Remake Intergrade and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart. Normally, companies have to do heavy lifting to increase demand for certain titles, but since these PS5 exclusives are only available on the hard-to-find console, Sony's actually hurting themselves a bit in the short term. Those exclusives just come as salt in the wound of the PS5-less out there. Keep trying, my fellow Coolers; we're bound to get lucky eventually. I just hope it's before the PS6 is announced.
[Editor's note: Let's do a fun bit of insult to injury and keep track of the latest restocks, shall we?
- 5/12 - GameStop - Fail
- 5/12 - Sony PlayStation Direct - Fail
- 5/13 - Best Buy - Fail
- 5/19 - Newegg Shuffle - ???
- 5/19 - GameStop - Success!
Editor's Note: As of today, Wednesday, May 19th, I managed to snag a disc drive PS5 bundle with a pair of controllers (noice) and a couple games that, honestly, weren't really on my list. (That order could still be canceled, of course.) But this is more anecdotal evidence that, if you're still looking for a PS5, you should absolutely reach out to some of these reputable helpers I mentioned above. Their tips worked, specifically Randall's. Without it, well, that Fail list probably would have kept going for some time. Best of luck, all!