UK Retailers Struggling with PS5 Demand on Launch Day - News

by William D'Angelo , posted on 19 November 2020 / 1,625 Views

The PlayStation 5 launched last week in North America, Japan, Australia, and New Zealand, and today it released in Europe and the rest of the world.

Demand in the UK is so high on launch day that retailers are struggling to cope, according to Video Games Chronicle. Due to COVID-19 lockdowns, the PS5 is only available to purchase online, which caused Tesco and John Lewis websites to crash this morning when the PS5 became available.

Retailer GAME had to introduce a queue system, which saw wait times of over an hour and retailer Curry's had a queue that saw over 200,000 people waiting.

200,000 people trying to order the PS5 from currys this morning ? #ps5uk pic.twitter.com/5Quq0ZIpxq
— Jamie (@ccjip93) November 19, 2020

Retailer Curry's due to the high demand had to stop selling the PS5 today and will let customers know when more become available.

"There will be no PS5s available to buy today," said Curry's via Twitter. "We know that this is disappointing news, and we are working super hard to get more stock. Please check our social channels for further updates on availability."

?PS5 Update?

There will be no PS5s available to buy today.

We know that this is disappointing news, and we are working super hard to get more stock.

Please check our social channels for further updates on availability ?
— Currys PC World (@curryspcworld) November 19, 2020

Retailer GAME had sent out emails to those that pre-ordered a PS5 at the store might not get their console on launch day, due to last-minute stock issues.

UK retailers are expected to receive more PS5 stock from Sony sometime next week.

Have you been able to get a PS5? Let us know in the comments.

A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.