PS5 Pre-Order demand crashes GameStop’s website

Not that long ago, Sony held an online showcase event for the PS5 and the games that have the honor of being its launch titles. With remakes of popular gems, highly anticipated sequels, and advanced hardware tying it all together, the PS5 saw an almost immediate explosion of demand. Now that demand is causing problems for people trying to pre-order the PS5.

PS5 Pre-Order woes

We are pleased to announce that further quantities of PS5 consoles will be made available to pre-order at https://t.co/hfsGYTcy0V and in GameStop stores tomorrow, Friday 9/25. pic.twitter.com/EbRMkAe5RW

— GameStop (@GameStop) September 24, 2020

PS5 preorder page is up at GameStop. Click to get in line now. https://t.co/e4nsgDPAuk pic.twitter.com/uCavDjzbN4

— IGN Deals (@IGNDeals) September 25, 2020

GameStop isn’t the first company to struggle to meet demand for the PS5. Major retailers like Wal-Mart sold out of their allotted PS5s in a matter of seconds, while Amazon had to issue retractions for customers who already placed their orders, either delaying or cancelling the order altogether.

With this latest batch of pre-orders, GameStop seems to have devised a method for making sure those who want a PS5 can get one in as fair a manner as possible. When a prospective customer goes to GameStop’s PS5 pre-order page they will instead be greeted with a message and graphic informing them that they are in line to pre-order the console.

(Image Credit: GameStop)

Despite best efforts, PS5 demand is still too high to manage

This method is commonly employed as a way for websites to handle the traffic which massive demand brings, but there are claims of some people not even seeing this page.

However, this won’t matter for most people because GameStop has already run out of consoles. If you should finally make it through the line, you’ll be greeted by a digital store shelf featuring the PS5, a few games, and the new DualSense controller.

(Image Credit: GameStop)

And when you click on the PS5 you’ll see the following screen.

(Image Credit: GameStop)

It seems no amount of management strategies can meet the demand for Sony’s new console. From GameStop’s PS5 page there is little else to learn as well, as the console’s features are already well known.

The only new information to gain from this page is that GameStop offers a 6-week payment plan and both a 1 and 2 year “Product Replacement Plan,” which may be worth it if you suspect that the PS5 could have catastrophic hardware problems.