Well, it’s finally happened! The next generation of gaming is finally here…sort of. While it’s true that both the Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 are officially launched, only a few gamers are able to enjoy the new systems at the moment. As anyone who primarily plays on consoles knows, new hardware is typically difficult to get during its launch window; it’s not unusual at all. In fact, it’s to be expected. The problem is especially bad this year, however, thanks to the extraordinary success of resellers' efforts to snag the hardware for themselves. At the moment, at leastone group has more units than many retail chains,and this is due at least in part to nonexistent countermeasures on retail websites. Flipping is a scummy practice and those that do it should feel ashamed.
At the same time though, they’re only able to do it because so many people are willing to pay top dollar for these new consoles. It’s natural to be excited of course, but here’s the thing: there’s no good reason to buy these consoles right now. Sure, both consoles have an exclusive game or two, but none of them are the kind of killer apps that normally move systems. Truly, there’s every reason to wait right now since all the good stuff (and upgrades) aren’t coming until sometime in 2021. In short, these resellers are getting away with this for no good reason.
By now, it’s most certainly cliché to point out that resellers only do this because people are willing to buy from them. It’s the exact same argument that gets trotted-out whenever the likes of EA or Activision does something unsavory with one of their games. If gamers don’t like it, gamers shouldn’t buy it. The problem is that even if the majority doesn’t support scalpers and shady business practices, the minority that does is still large enough to make it all worthwhile for the perpetrators. Only a uniform boycott from everyone would put a stop to this kind of stuff and that’s just plain not going to happen. People should do their best to avoid supporting it on their own, but it’s not enough. More effort needs to come from the systems that support it.
In the case of resold electronics, it would help if sites like eBay and Amazon put measures and policies in place to discourage and/or disrupt this practice. Not allowing listings of pre-orders or the sale of a new piece of technology within two months of launch would go a long way to thwarting the less-determined resellers out there. It would also help if sites like Target, Best Buy, Walmart, etc. added extra verification steps for each attempted purchase; measures like extra email codes, captchas and address verifications would make it more difficult to get away with using bots. All of these things together wouldn’t solve the problem of course, but they would hopefully prevent individuals from getting forty to fifty units.
As for the rest of us, patience is the key to victory. If someone wants aPlayStation 5or anXbox Series X/S, then they’re free to try to buy one. Still, it would be better if everyone could take a step back from their next-gen excitement and look at what exactly is on offer right now. The vast majority of games available on both these systems are also available on their current-generation counterparts. Yes, theDemon’s Souls remakeis gorgeous, and yesSpider-Man: Miles Moraleslooks like evenmore fun than the original.Are these two games really worth a $400-plus investment right now, though? Is it really worth paying double or even triple the listing price to play these games right now? There’s also the relativeinstability and inferiority of launch window consolesto consider. Many promised features for both Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 aren’t coming until next year, and several notable problems have been reported for these early units. Is this worth the money?
Supply and reselling are always going to be problems whenever new hardware launches, but there’s a lot that both retailers and consumers can do to mitigate it. Retailers need to take more active steps to ensure that legitimate customers are able to make their purchases, and gamers need to learn to put their excitement aside and be more willing to wait a month or two before getting that new system. This is especially true this time around since there’s not all that much to play on them right now. As for the scalpers, there’s nothing to say to them except that they should at least understand why everyone is livid with them at the moment.
