CEO of threat of online console scalpers.
The purchasing a PS5 from someone else.
Consumers keep expressing their frustrations with the current PS5 situation on Sony's social media s. Any time a new video about the PS5 is put up, the comment sections fill up with angry messages about the lack of available systems. And they're evidently not the only ones who are unhappy. PlayStation head Jim Ryan told Axios how he is frustrated with resellers and bots buying up all of the stock. He said that Sony is working hard with retailers to correct this situation in order to ensure that PS5s will make their way into "the right hands," and not into the greedy grasp of scalpers.
One way in which he suggested this problem can be fixed is customers buying PS5s through PlayStation Direct, a service that allows gamers to buy consoles directly from Sony. This service is currently only available in the US, but it will be coming to Europe by March 2022.
It's questionable how much retailers actually care about dealing with the scalper problem. Ultimately, it doesn't matter if PS5s are bought by bots or legitimate consumers, as it's still a purchase. The rabid demand for PS5 systems means that the fervor isn't going to go away, especially as Sony doesn't see the stock shortages ending anytime soon. It's irable that Sony wants to solve the scalper situation and see more PS5s into the hands of customers who actually want the system, but with so few PS5s coming down the pipeline for the foreseeable future, it might not be able to do anything about it.
Source: Axios
