As one can imagine during this Covid-19 pandemic, a significantly larger amount of people are staying at home and not venturing out which has directly led to a huge spike in demand for electronic gaming. In addition, huge demand for more laptops, desktop computers, and other electronic devices for remote work has drove a silicon/semi-conductor shortage that has not just impacted the electronics sector, but even the auto industry.
In the first time in over twenty years, I decided to get a console, more specifically a PS5. The last console I bought was the PS2, and the main reason I haven’t bought a console since then was because I’ve mostly wanted a single device for gaming and productivity as well as upgradability which led me to build multiple desktop PCs over the years. The main reason why I decided to purchase a PS5 because of the Final Fantasy 7 Remake. It’s been past Sony’s one year exclusive for the AAA title and it has yet to appear for the PC platform and because of that, I couldn’t wait any longer.
My journey to get a PS5 took about a week. I even subscribed to Twitter influencers to get notifications of console restocks from the major retailers. The process in getting the PS5 took a little bit of effort, but not too bad. In the journey in getting a unit, I even snagged two Xbox Series S although not originally planned.
On my first attempt, I had a notification for both Xbox and PS5 console restocks on Walmart which they would ship to you only, no local pickup. The Xbox drops were about half an hour before the PS5, so I decided since I was waiting, I may as well try to get a Xbox some my time would not be totally wasted. Luckily I did secure a Xbox Series S. The process was quite hectic with the constant refreshing for about two hours with restock interval every ten minutes. The closest I got to purchasing a PS5 that day was getting a unit in the shopping cart but only to have it denied when trying to checkout because lack of inventory.
For my second attempt in getting a PS5, I followed Target restocks which required local pickup. During that process, I obtained another Xbox Series S. The Twitter account of TechRadar Editor-in-Chief Matt Swider stated that from his sources, it was very likely the Target was going to have a PS5 restock on March 25th; so I woke up around 3am that morning and received a Twitter notification from another Twitter influencer, @PS5restocks_etc of restocks by Target at 4:22am. I jumped on one of my desktop PCs and a laptop to constantly refresh the target PS5 console page and within about half an hour, I was able successfully checkout.
