Launch failure: how it cost us to buy the PS5 and Xbox Series X

The Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PlayStation 5 are finally here, and for many of us in The edge, this has been one of the most anticipated weeks of the whole year. But getting a console, even the ones ordered in advance, has not been easy.

Like all major hardware releases, demand is already through the roof, meaning that the consoles are selling instantly. The pandemic has almost certainly thrown many keys to the already complicated logistical challenge of shipping millions of game consoles around the world. And there has also been a frustrating lack of communication from retailers on when and where to expect consoles, causing customers to desperately search the web for any clue as to how they can get their hands on the new machines, and often , they still find nothing.

Some of us in The edge we have been hunting this week and wanted to share our experiences. We hope that everyone who wants one of the new consoles from Microsoft or Sony can get one soon.

Nick insteadI was one of the lucky few to get a pre-order for the PlayStation 5 just as the floodgates opened in September. I was also thinking of an Xbox Series S, but I felt like I would wait for that, thinking maybe it would be easier to secure the less powerful and cheaper Xbox closer to launch day.

I was wrong. Both Xbox consoles, like both variants of the PS5, are practically sold out everywhere. I have been watching with a mixture of horror and relief all that some of my friends, co-workers, and random internet shoppers have gone to try to get a pre-order or post-launch unit.

It’s been a disaster, and I really would have liked to see both companies set better expectations for how many units were available and what retailers were doing to ensure fair and reasonable pre-order processes that weren’t plagued by scalpers and bots. We didn’t see any of that – it’s been totally free, and neither company seems willing to offer at least one explanation or just point out the COVID-19 pandemic as an obvious roadblock, something I think would have gone wrong. a long way to help ease the tensions around protecting these products from day one.

Of course, I was also looking at my PS5 Walmart pre-order with growing concern, as it hadn’t shipped earlier this week, even as the PS5 launch approached in a matter of days. Then I was informed of a possible delay, losing my hope of having the console on launch weekend.

But to my surprise, Walmart shipped my unit from Kentucky on Wednesday night and it arrived in New York on Thursday night. It has since arrived via FedEx on my doorstep, and now it’s getting hundreds of gigabytes of game updates and downloads as I prepare to play it sometime on Friday.

As for the Xbox Series S I’ve been looking at, I think I’ll wait until next year when Halo: Infinity spear. I just can’t be bothered to go through the hoops required to get one before then.

Taylor Lyles: I got an Xbox Series X and a PS5 at launch, but the way I got my PS5 was pretty fun. Every Thursday, I have a team meeting at 12:30 PM ET, but my gut told me that the package was going to arrive during that meeting. I had the camera feed from the Ring doorbell on my phone when the meeting started because I was afraid someone would come on my porch and steal my package unattended. Mama Tay was no you will let a porch pirate steal your newborn baby.

As soon as I reported what projects I was working on, I immediately saw the UPS man outside my house and sent a message on Zoom saying, “My PS5 is here. I brb. “I walked down the steps wearing a mask, scaring the UPS man because I didn’t expect anyone to be waiting outside on the porch on a cold, rainy day.

I ran upstairs, unpacked the PS5, and decided to place my new console on my lap so that everyone knows that I have the PS5 in my possession. A couple of colleagues took a screenshot of my enthusiasm and I had to tweet because this was Taylor’s best way to get my PS5, to be honest.

Cameron Faulkner: (My boss is looking at me.) My main goal for the arrival of next-gen consoles has been to offer readers so many ways to get one. That’s difficult to do during a pandemic, for many reasons: money is tight, everyone is at home and online at the same time, and the companies responsible for making the consoles and distributing these consoles to retailers are going through the pandemic like everyone else. others.

(Okay, I think my boss stopped looking at me.) When the PS5 was released and some of my colleagues shared stories about getting their own, the anticipation of getting one for myself began. I don’t totally need it, as I have a good PC that took me more than enough to build. And it’s not that the PS5 is packed with exclusive games, at least not yet.

Still, I’ve been reduced to setting resupply reminders for myself. Don’t worry, we’re still trying our best to make sure you’re the first, but hopefully there will be a PS5 left for old Cammy to buy soon.

Jay Peters: Earlier this week, I thought I was ready to have two next-gen consoles by the weekend. I had reserved an Xbox Series S from Newegg and a PS5 Digital Edition from Target weeks ago. But here we are on Friday, and neither will I, both for my own impulses and for reasons beyond my control.

I don’t have that Xbox Series S because I was blown away by the excellent Xbox Series X reviews and tried to find a pre-order for one of those. Monday night, I stayed up late trying to reserve one for in-store pickup at Target. But by sheer luck, I saw that Microsoft’s online store opened orders for Xbox Series X. After minutes of frenzied updates, I led the way and was able to see a console, albeit with an expected shipping date of late December. . Despite that possible wait, I clicked the buy button, secured my order, breathed a sigh of relief, and canceled my S-Series pre-order. There’s no way I’m going to have to wait until December, right?

Well, my Xbox Series X order status remains “pending,” with no indication of when it might actually ship. And the reservation system at Target’s store was a failure – the website said I had reserved one, but I never received a confirmation email. I called my nearby Target the next day to ask if they had the order, and the person I spoke to told me that there had been a problem with online reservations and to try again the next day. (Fortunately, my credit card was not charged.)

I don’t have my PS5 either, although I ordered it in advance in September. I didn’t get any concrete follow-up information on it until yesterday, which is the day the PS5 was officially released. Fortunately, it is supposed to arrive on Sunday. But the retailers’ lack of transparency and their overloaded checkout processes have made the week much more frustrating than I expected.

Chaim Gartenberg: I’d gone into this entire console season planning to skip both next-gen consoles during the initial rush, as there’s not much in the way of exclusive games and I wasn’t about to stay up until 3 a.m. M. To test the Best Buy update in hopes of getting a console from day one.

I’m also a huge tech nerd though (see: all this work), and unsurprisingly, I got caught up in the excitement and hype, so I spent the entire launch day trying (and failing) to buy one. PS5. I’ve never actually owned a PS4, so I’m justifying it as a way to catch up on a bunch of old games I’ve never played (looking at you, Person 5).

Unfortunately, buying a PS5 is, uh, practically impossible these days, which means I’ve resigned myself to going back to my original plan – waiting until there are more stock (and more games) to play before buying one. Afterwards, I go and check the Sony website one more time, that is, just in case the latest batch of consoles is available.

It’s okay. Really. I’m not jealous of shiny new devices at all.

Megan FarokhmaneshAll week I’ve watched my bright, kind, hardworking colleagues fight bitterly with digital carts over $ 500 disco blocks that barely fit on their TV stands. Like the rising tide, hope swelled eternally with each new window. And each time, my colleagues were frustrated by invisible forces: shoppers with trigger fingers, a faulty internet connection, Jeff Bezos. Your failures, I am not ashamed to say, have become my entertainment.

Look, I also want one or both of the big fancy boxes, but I’m not willing to spend that much money on something that barely has exclusive games yet. I know it would only be to savor fleeting happiness in the face of incessant fear and insecurity about what the future holds. And I think my colleagues know it too, because I asked them.

Anyway, I’m saving all my dead-eyed anxiety shopping for the true champion’s pick, Black Friday. I can’t wait to pick up my new console without a problem in about three months.

Adi Robertson: It amazes me that everyone has so many problems. Thought I’d get a PlayStation to check Demon soulsso I ordered one from Amazon this week and it’s scheduled for delivery tomorrow. Pretty cheap too!