Sony PlayStation 5 Sees Massive Demand As Sales Start

Sony’s much anticipated PlayStation 5 has finally gone on sale in Japan.

There is only one problem – supply currently pales in comparison to the pre-orders taken by retail stores since Joe or Joanne Public could first register his / her interest in mid-September.

Sony Corp’s gaming branch, Sony Interactive Entertainment has promoted the new console as 100 times faster than its predecessor the PlayStation 4, which first came out almost seven years ago.

Home base in Japan was not the only country that saw retailers start releasing the PS5 to the public earlier today, however, as it was also released in a number of other markets including neighboring South Korea, Australia and New Zealand.

The console will hit shelves across the rest of the world next Thursday.

Demand is expected to be similarly high across the European Union and the UK where millions are in some form of enforced government lockdown doe to the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.

The new device is equipped with an Ultra HD Blu-ray disc drive, or in digital format minus the disc drive, with prices set at 49,980 yen for the former or 39,980 yen for the latter.

The release of the PlayStation 5 comes just 48 hours after the latest version of Xbox, the Series X, and such is the demand that online auction sites the world over are already offering both games consoles at prices much higher than the retail price; a phenomenon expected to drop off as soon as supply starts meeting demand, although that date is not anticipated for some time yet.

Lisa Conklin

Lisa is an Eastender from London in her second year in Taipei where she teaches English, and in her spare time writes poetry. She is a practicing vegan and lover of yoga who lives 'off-grid' as much as possible. She is our weekend editor.