While the UK has received a hearty helping of PS5 stock this year already – as has been reflected in the software charts of late – the system is still very much in-demand. And while they’ve had close to six months to solve the problem, retailers are still getting overrun by scalpers, which is preventing legitimate fans from getting their hands on the format at recommended retail price.
In an attempt to end that, Currys PC World has launched a lottery system, which will see consumers selected at random and awarded the opportunity to buy a next-gen console. All you need to do is sign up for the Currys Priority Pass via the store’s website, and then hope for the best. You’ll be contacted if you’ve “won” the opportunity to purchase a platform, and will then have 72 hours to follow through.
Assuming it works as intended, this sounds like it may be the best possible solution right now, as Currys PC World was attracting virtual queues of over 55,000 earlier this month, with fans scrambling to snatch a system. While you will need a bit of luck to be selected by the lottery, at least you won’t have to fight against tens of thousands of people all at the same time, and will be able to calmly complete the transaction if you find yourself among the chosen ones.
[source engage.currys.co.uk, via videogameschronicle.com, eurogamer.net]
Comments 32
It's getting kinda crazy...
It's getting a lot better here in Canada at least
Virtually every week now there are drops and now they're starting to last a little over half an hour. Hell I'm about to get my console in like a few days after some delayed shipping which was annoying
This sounds preferable to the free for all system imo. Kudos to them.
Here in new york gamestop had it available for a limited time.but quickly sold out haha.ps5 is hot on demand.it eill be interesting during the holidays .word up son
I was in a rush to get one but the current situation has me waiting on more readily available stock and a few more exclusive games and some good sales on said games. Not worth the stress to get one when my main reason to get one is faster load times on my PS4 collection.
Never, EVER, buy anything from Currys PC World. Their customer service is the worst I've ever experienced.
Honestly the ps5’s not going to be fully worth it for at least another year, so I guess this could be worse. Still a bloody shambles though
Not ideal, but given how scalpers have been getting so much stock I guess this is what has to be done for now. Luckily for me managed to get one on release, I am enjoying it, but honestly I think I could have waited, think I got caught up in the hype lol, hopefully we get a few next gen games this year. Looking forward to returnal at the moment think that looks like a good game, just hope the price will be worth it, that's the problem with being an early adopter not much games out so any new release you tend to buy it just for that next gen game
You know what would alleviate server crashes, scalper bots, and virtual queues?
Store shelves.
It's been pretty chaotic. I've been checking on stock levels frequently for like four days. Just managed to bag two of them today finally. Incredible demand. Or they've only made seven of them or something. One of the two.
I'm lucky to get ps5 a couple of days later after my country ps5 launch date, while I still didn't have true ps5 games yet, I'm really enjoying playing ps4 patched games at 60 fps.
@tomted76 I had a vacuum cleaner that died after about 18 months and they just replaced it with a brand new one. Took a hard drive back after a few weeks when it packed up and they replaced that too. Different stores too so guess it depends where you go I guess and what your problem is. Everyone has different experiences with any company.
Getting hold of a PS5 is difficult, sure - but it's nothing compared to trying to get hold of a graphics card, at the moment (yeah, thanks Bitcoin)
I'm perfectly happy with my PS4 still, truth be told.
@Enigk Totally agree, it depends on your experience! We’ve been waiting for a refund on a faulty fridge since November. Nightmare getting through, no one knows what’s going on, keep getting cut off after hours on the phone. Anyway, at least they were good for you!
It's funny that everyone is trying to get a PS5 yet xbox has no mention even though x1 is the superior console lol...maybe Microsoft isn't doing a good job at marketing xbox as they had hoped lol
It's this point I'll wait till 2022 before I pick one up
@TranslucentEye It's not "the superior console" - it has marginally better performance in some areas, nothing to build a superiority complex on. It's not like comparing last year's Nvidia graphics cards with this years, for example. Hence why marketing, the size of the existing fanbase and game exclusives have a lot more to do with the disparity in sales than "my GPU has 10% more Flops than yours" and similar stuff that few console gamers really care about
That's better, can't wait until the small hours to but one or queue online while at work.
PS5 lottery has been around since last year in Belgium.
Thanks for the heads up, Push Square! I’ve entered my details and will be eagerly watching my emails for... weeks, months?
@TheFrenchiestFry Congratulations, man! Hope you enjoy it when it arrives 🙂
@The_Pixel_King Haven't ordered games yet but excited nonetheless to get the school binder to sit next to my toaster in the basement.
@TheFrenchiestFry PS5 and Switch is certainly a really nice pair of consoles to have. I’ve already sold my PS4 so I have the funds ready as soon as I can find a PS5. In the meantime, I’m more than happy with 'just' the toaster! Currently replaying Link’s Awakening.
@The_Pixel_King I've been on a Final Fantasy binge myself since Sephiroth got announced for Smash
Helps that pretty much all the PS1/2 era FF games are on Switch now as well. I'm currently playing FFIX. I haven't sold my PS4 yet but likely will once the new kid comes in
Great idea! I'm now looking to get another one for my basement gaming room for the weekends.
From a "trying to prevent cheating the system" point of view at least they ask for the address and postcode not just the email as other sites have done. This is much harder to fake as emails can be mass made by bots actually making the odds WORSE for humans.
I applaud them trying and actually thinking this through.
Hopefully they don't allow the address to be switched at a later date without good reason (there are some valid reasons to change address)
This is what they do for some concert tickets, high profile merch drops etc. in Japan so I'm glad they're trying the same thing here. I reckon the bots will still win, but at least suppliers are actually trying something to combat them this time.
I wish more online stores would take this approach
Pushsquare, thanks very much for posting the Curry's lottery link
@Voltan It's gettin', it's gettin', it's gettin' kinda heavy.
Curry’s have stopped the lottery now, good luck getting hold of one of you haven’t already
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