PS5. The most sought-after home console is back in stock (with a new price) this weekend. We explain where to find it.
[Mis à jour le 2 septembre 2022 à 10h51] The Playstation 5 continues to win hands down its popularity war with the Xbox Series X. The next-gen according to Sony is indeed still the victim of stock shortages, almost two years after its release. A situation which is partly explained by an extremely strong demand, and an offer which is struggling to satisfy it. Add to that a small price increase not to bite beetles (50 €), decided less than a week ago by Sony, and you will have a rather complicated context for the purchase of a PS5 console. But the good news is that it’s back in stock today.
Our Thursday September 2 PS5 stock tracker live
- 10h25 : Pack available at Leclerc !
- 10:00 a.m. : The Playstation 5 is available second-hand and at a high price at Rakuten (see below)
Today, the Playstation 5 is harder to find than before the holidays. After a price increase of 50 € per console version, and you will understand that the context is not very favorable to the purchase of a Playstation 5. Today, it is Leclerc who is selling copies of the console, by offering packs including games, console, and accessories. Only, the demand is as strong as the low supply, making the Leclerc website a colossus with feet of clay in the face of the onslaught of French consumers. The 404 error indicates an overloaded page, or unavailable packs.
If you want to get a Playstation 5, you can also very well opt for the second-hand purchase. Consoles are regularly handed over for resale on sites like Rakuten, and sellers will sometimes offer you great prices. Notably, in the period following the PS5 price increase, some deals may well be almost profitable. But don’t forget, the PS5 is rare and retailers have understood this perfectly, sometimes offering the console at exorbitant prices. As a reminder, the PS5 Digital is sold at €449.99 and the PS5 Standard at €549.99.
It is the information of this beginning of September which confirms certain rumors heard in recent weeks. New PS5 models have been received in select stores in Australia. Their particularity? A different serial number from previous models, and a slightly reduced weight, from 3.6 to 3.4 kg. So hard to talk about Playstation 5 Slim for now, although the console seems to have gone on a bit of a diet. For the moment, the reason for this sudden relief is still unknown. Normally, this “new model”, if we extrapolate the facts a little, should be distributed in France in the coming weeks.
If the summer lacked bad news, here is another one that will greatly displease video game players. Sony has made the decision to increase the selling price of the Playstation 5 by just over 10% in certain regions of the world. De facto, the console sees the price of its Standard version go from 499 to 549 € and its Digital version from 399 to 449 €. An increase justified by Jim Ryan in an article Playstation Blog (Jim Ryan is the CEO of Sony Interactive Entertainment) by the climate of global inflation.
This increase is effective immediately in the affected regions, namely the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, Mexico, Canada, China and Japan. Only spared, the United States. In the blog post announcing the price increase, Sony said: “The global economic environment is a challenge that many of you feel around the world. We can see high rates of inflation and hostile monetary curves, impacting the lives of consumers and creating great pressures on many industries. Based on these economic conditions, SIE has made the difficult decision to increase the selling price of the Playstation 5 in certain markets in Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and Canada..” Jim Ryan, PDG de Sony Interactive Entertainment
Side gamers, difficult to swallow the pill, an increase of 10% remains consistent, despite the justifications of Sony. The Japanese company claims to follow the evolution of the market, in strong inflation since the coronavirus pandemic and the start of the War in Ukraine. The company claims to put the interests of consumers first, and is trying to maintain its margin on the production of Playstation 5, which is undoubtedly more expensive since the price increase of various raw materials.
The quantity of consoles available on the market is also the subject of the last paragraph of Jim Ryan’s blog post, which states “While this price hike is a necessity given the global economic climate and its impact on SIE, our primary goal remains to improve the supply of PS5s around the world, so that as many players as possible can enjoy everything. that the PS5 has to offer and will offer in the future.“It should be noted that the year 2022 saw the best supply side on the French market, while experts are counting on a return to normal by 2024.
On the other hand, there is one who is likely to smile after this announcement. And yes, it is the Xbox Series. The official competitor of the Playstation 5 retains its original selling price for the moment, giving it a clear advantage over the Japanese console. The Xbox Series S can therefore always be found at 300 € while its big sister the Xbox Series X keeps its selling price of 500 €. A price difference that could well capsize the hearts of some buyers in favor of the American console. That said, it is not excluded that Microsoft announces such an increase in the coming months.
For 18 months buyers have been struggling to get a Playstation 5. The new game console is in high demand, and e-commerce sites feel it during the rare restocking and new stocks. Indeed, the crowd is great on the latter while some pages collapse completely in long queues. Speed is the key word of this new “sport” of which there are certain rules that can greatly benefit you. Indeed, each site has its own operation, and this slide contains a few tricks that can help you make your purchase as quickly as possible.
As you will have understood, the Playstation 5 is part of a generation of consoles released directly out of stock. Remember, when Sony’s last console was released, it was November 2020, and the coronavirus pandemic was reaching peak levels, paralyzing the economy around the world. Southeast Asia, the leading producer of semiconductor metals used in the manufacture of smart cards (ie processors and graphics processors for consoles and PCs) has been hard hit, slowing the production of consoles, graphics cards and even cars all over the world. A factor that is still felt today on the high-tech market, and particularly on that of the latest generation game consoles.
As for Playstations 5, and more generally graphics processors, the situation should not return to normal before 2024. A prediction made by Pat Gelsinger, the President and CEO of Intel, who affirms in an interview with CNBC that the production of microchips should return to its full potential by the end of 2023. A precise expertise but a bad omen for console and PC gamers who expected to be able to enjoy a stable situation by now the end of the year 2022.