Are PS5 / Xbox Series the most botched console launches ever?

[dumpster]

2 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

Haven’t MS and Sony been restocking continuously since launch and they’ve just been selling out? Who said they made a bunch of consoles for launch and then just stopped?

They are releasing small numbers into retail but the scalpers buy them all. If they waited, stocked up then shipped a number that matches the demand there wouldn't be a scalper market.  That's why I feel they rushed it all and launched way too soon.

[Alex W.]

Just now, dumpster said:

They are releasing small numbers into retail but the scalpers buy them all. If they waited, stocked up then shipped a number that matches the demand there wouldn't be a scalper market.  That's why I feel they rushed it all and launched way too soon.

So the solution to there not being any consoles available to buy is to not let anyone buy the consoles?

[Alex W.]

Like, demand is a rate, a number of consoles per unit time. If you decide to wait there’s just going to be more people who want the console who haven’t been able to buy it yet.

[Fry Crayola]

7 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

Like, demand is a rate, a number of consoles per unit time. If you decide to wait there’s just going to be more people who want the console who haven’t been able to buy it yet.

 

Or indeed, more people who buy your competitor's product because something fleetingly available is still more easy to get than nothing.

[Popo]

13 minutes ago, Alex W. said:

Haven’t MS and Sony been restocking continuously since launch and they’ve just been selling out? Who said they made a bunch of consoles for launch and then just stopped?

I don’t think so, not for the PS5 anyway - I’ve been keeping a close eye on restock alerts and there have been a few over the past month but mainly scalpers putting them on Amazon for a grand. Laptops Direct did a small restock but only as part of £900 bundles. 
 

It feels like Sony are letting supply build up to a reasonable level before releasing the to retailers. It is kinda mad that it’s been almost 2 months without a peep, though. 

[Dudley]

10 minutes ago, Fry Crayola said:

 

Or indeed, more people who buy your competitor's product because something fleetingly available is still more easy to get than nothing.

 

Yeah dumpster's theory only works if demand is constant and consistent.

[womblingfree]

There’s no stock, which is crap, but in terms of fuck up’s it’s not even close to PS2 and 3 or the 360’s RROD.

 

Not yet anyway.

[Dudley]

And ultimately it didn't harm the 1st, 7th and 8th best selling games machines of all time.

[Transient Curse]

Eh, the pandemic has impacted the software, maybe the supply too, but also the demand has been boosted. I feel like under the circumstances, they've done fairly well, most people here who knew they wanted a system got one before christmas as far as I can tell. Despite some teething troubles with software, I feel happy with my purchase and use it most days, I feel it gives a good experience.  

 

I'm more inclined to say that despite the difficulties of the last year it's remarkable what they've achieved.

[Jg15]

I get the feeling MS really didn't expect the new Xboxes to shift like they have, set low production numbers, and are now kicking themselves. It is certainly different to the Xbox One where they manufactured too many and, as a result, stock was readily available weeks and months after release.

 

Sony went all in on production, totally expecting the PS5 to sell out, but are also unable to keep up with demand.

 

Phil Spencer said it, the Pandemic has really had a major (positive) impact on the sales of Consoles and games. More so than Sony, Nintendo and MS could have foreseen.

[Transient Curse]

57 minutes ago, Jg15 said:

I get the feeling MS really didn't expect the new Xboxes to shift like they have, set low production numbers, and are now kicking themselves. It is certainly different to the Xbox One where they manufactured too many and, as a result, stock was readily available weeks and months after release.

 

Sony went all in on production, totally expecting the PS5 to sell out, but are also unable to keep up with demand.

 

Phil Spencer said it, the Pandemic has really had a major (positive) impact on the sales of Consoles and games. More so than Sony, Nintendo and MS could have foreseen.

The Xbox One launch wasn't as global a launch as the series X, Microsoft prioritised certain regions (UK, USA) where they expected most demand to be, but following their disastrous E3, they ended up with a surplus in those areas (though may have had one everywhere anyway). 

 

With Series X/S, they delayed production to get their hardware fully certified for RDNA2 - I'm not really sure what that means, but they couldn't finalise their design until AMD decided what that meant, while Sony pressed on with production, which is why despite both selling out, Sony’s number is likely to be higher, as well as there being more demand for the PS5 - if an infinite number of both were available, they'd still have sold more.

[deerokus]

The latest gen of GPUs say hello. 

[Harrisown]

Yes and no. I can’t believe the state of the UI on PS5 and I already have a controller that’s broken.

However I think they can fix these issues (but I don’t think Sony will ever change the UI)

The extent and organisation of the scalpers is on another scale and that’s really spoilt things for a lot of people.

 

Considering what’s going on on in the world I’m surprised either launched this ,sorry last, year and at least this time they do have some actual cutting edge tech inside

[Monkeyspill]

 The stock situation is shit. I don't remember any previous consoles being so hard to get hold of for RRP.

[Marlew]

It actually feels like a generational leap, or at least a decent stride, compared to the PS4/XB1. 

 

[Dudley]

1 hour ago, Jg15 said:

I get the feeling MS really didn't expect the new Xboxes to shift like they have, set low production numbers, and are now kicking themselves. It is certainly different to the Xbox One where they manufactured too many and, as a result, stock was readily available weeks and months after release.

 

Given we keep seeing the S in stock and the X not at all or even more briefly it certainly seems they've mis-estimated the split there.

 

 

14 minutes ago, Monkeyspill said:

 The stock situation is shit. I don't remember any previous consoles being so hard to get hold of for RRP.

 

Then you don't remember the Nintendo Wii, that was months like that.

[Flanders]

I feel like some people have developed amnesia over what the Xbox/PS4 launches were like.
 

Not just the launches but the whole first year of both consoles was incredibly weak in terms of software - I looked back on my play history for all

my PS4 games when the PS5 came out and it looks like I barely played anything after launch until Shadow of Mordor came out the following summer. 
 

The PS5 launch and first year is miles better in comparison and not just first party wise - Hitman 3 is out in two weeks and out I’m pretty comfortable in predicting that will be better than anything that was out for the PS4/Xbone at the same stage. 
 

The backwards compatibility is a huge improvement as well. I can’t get over how well so many PS4 games run on the PS5 and that’s the machine with the weaker BC offering of the two. 

[Keyboard Koala]

Just as an aside, apparently the unavailability of the PS5 made the sales of the PS4 skyrocket. Which I became painfully aware of as I was looking for a new PS4. 

[MattyP]

Not really. Scalpers have been around as long as eBay what is different is that more people are tech savvy and we are in the midst of a global pandemic. So hugely more in demand and more people out to try and make some easy money.

 

Also gaming is much bigger than it ever was. As for the reliability of consoles well they are more complex, people are more likely to be vocal about things not been 100% right. Also more consoles out there than ever before.

 

Launch lineups are very slim this time though. Although plenty to play nothing that much different. I think it's just different these days as there is less revolutionary changes and more evolutionary. 

 

So I wouldn't say they were botched. Just different and launched in truly extraordinary times.

[Ry]

Not the worst although I think they were rushed and should have waited a year. 

 

Particularly disappointed in the PS5. 

[Marlew]

What games did you get for the PS5, again, @Ry? 

[Keyboard Koala]

1 minute ago, MattyP said:

So I wouldn't say they were botched. Just different and launched in truly extraordinary times.

 

Yeah I think that's a fairer assesment. 

 

The scalpers are hugely annoying though, and more so than ever. If you don't pre-order something (be it games, consoles, movies) months in advance these days,  be prepared to pay the iron price.

[mikeyl]

The pearl clutching about scalpers is unreal. The fact is, if you were serious and wanted any of the consoles, you could’ve got one if you tried hard enough.

 

DIY ukhotdeals resellers jumping all over it and driving up aftermarket prices shouldn’t concern anyone here.

[cubik]

Scalping was so much easier this time round, it was amplified by facebook marketplace, everyone being used to selling their shit on eBay, Gumtree, people with a lot of time on their hands who could sit and press F5 to get hold of one etc.

 

I'll single out CEX as the enabler that made it so simple for someone lucky enough to get one to make £200 pretty much instantly with no hassles. I know a few people who spent quite a bit of time trying to buy them from normal retailers just so they could sell them to CEX. OK, technically it's not CEX's fault but offering people the ability to make £200 just before Christmas with no hassle? The results were inevitable.

 

Even the PS5 docking station became a scalper's favourite, and it's the least essential thing I can think of. A lump of plastic that replaces a USB cable, selling for £80?

 

I don't blame Sony for that,or even CEX. I blame people, hype and rampant consumerism.

[MattyP]

7 minutes ago, Keyboard Koala said:

 

Yeah I think that's a fairer assesment. 

 

The scalpers are hugely annoying though, and more so than ever. If you don't pre-order something (be it games, consoles, movies) months in advance these days,  be prepared to pay the iron price.

Agree. Although I remember it being the same on the 360 launch (the only other console I've bought at launch). I pre& ordered a year in advance for that.

 

Although pre-ordering was quite late this time for the new consoles so think this has compounded the current problem.

[Stanley]

21 minutes ago, Ry said:

Not the worst although I think they were rushed and should have waited a year. 

 

Particularly disappointed in the PS5. 

Yes because of the two it’s clearly Sony who weren’t ready 

[Keyboard Koala]

7 minutes ago, mikeyl said:

The pearl clutching about scalpers is unreal. The fact is, if you were serious and wanted any of the consoles, you could’ve got one if you tried hard enough.

 

DIY ukhotdeals resellers jumping all over it and driving up aftermarket prices shouldn’t concern anyone here.

 

Not sure if serious really.

 

Scalpers are becoming an absolute pest imo. They now seem to have discovered the market of games magazines as well it seems, buying up magazines in bulk so no-one else gets them but for three, four even five times the original asking price. I think most scalpers are scum preventing regular customers to enjoy their hobby. There's no two ways about it really.

[Stanley]

These people should be strung up by the balls, but that’s capitalism for you. 

[Majora]

It was incredibly difficult to get a Wii for months after launch. The Switch was hard to get for a good few months if you hadn't pre-ordered too, I think some people have selective memories about how easy it was to get some previous consoles unless you'd pre-ordered. Admittedly the main difference this time is that actually getting the preorder in was incredibly difficult compared to my previous experiences. Getting in a preorder for a Switch and PS4 was a breeze in comparison.

 

Can't help but wonder what a Switch 2 launch might look like now that the original is a bona fide success. At least part of the reason it was so easy to get a preorder in must have been because they were coming off the Wii U. Now they're coming off a hit and everyone has seen how much money there is to be made scalping consoles, I wonder if this will just be the norm for future launches.

[djbhammer]

I think both consoles were certainly fit to launch. I’ve had no issues with my Series X and Im not aware of any major issues on both platforms.