Every couple of years, the video game industry is shaken up by the release of brand-new consoles. These product debuts aren’t minor affairs. They’re major events where supply rarely keeps up with demand from gamers.
Many new consoles that retail stores get in stock are quickly scooped up by scalpers, who then turn around and resell them for well over retail price. Tap or click here to see how old consoles can still fetch a hefty price tag.
This year, Sony’s PlayStation 5 and Microsoft’s Xbox series X and S are some of the hottest holiday gifts. Supplies are running low, and you won’t find them easily without running into scalpers and scammers. Here are the best ways to get your hands on one.
We’ll also show you how to pick up a Nintendo Switch. It’s the company’s bestselling console and has been impossible to find over the last several months during the quarantine.
Not just fun and games
Sony and Microsoft are two of the three biggest names in gaming, and both companies released brand-new consoles this year in time for the holiday shopping season.
For Sony, the PlayStation 5 marks the latest evolution in the beloved series of gaming consoles. It boasts improved graphics and performance from the PlayStation 4, and its load times have been cut in half — as low as 17 seconds in some games.
Microsoft, on the other hand, released the Xbox series S and Xbox series X. The series X is the beefier model, with improvements in performance over the Xbox One and backward compatibility with thousands of titles from the last two decades. The series S is designed as a more affordable alternative that trades graphics for price and performance.
The new Xboxes were available for sale on Nov. 10, and the PS5 made its debut on Nov. 12.
Both company’s offerings have been excessively hyped over the past several months, and retailers like GameStop and Best Buy offered pre-orders for a limited time. Now that these orders have been fulfilled, it’s almost impossible to find unclaimed consoles for regular retail prices.
When a highly anticipated item becomes scarce, scammers see a perfect opportunity to make some extra cash. Shoppers eager to buy one of these rare consoles have found themselves tricked by fraudulent listings and online scams. Some even believe their legitimate orders were stolen right from the delivery truck.
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