IT’S A new week and that means new opportunities to bag yourself a PS5 console.
Amazon are set to drop a whopping 8,000 consoles this weekend, compared to their usual supply of 5,000.
This looks like it could be Playstation fans’ lucky week, with plenty of retailers planning to drop stock.
PS5UPDATEUK posted on Twitter: “Amazon is expecting around 8K stock to be delivered this weekend.
“There may be more shipment deliveries made that I don’t know other than this.
“8K might sound small to you, but Amazon have always released under 5K stock each restock, so this shows an increase in supply.”
And there are rumours from stock tracking sites claiming consoles will land at GAME, Very and John Lewis in the next seven days too – although, as always, nothing is guaranteed.
The restock news comes as Currys made a dramatic change to way customers can buy PS5s, introducing a new “raffle” system.
The tech retailer is planning to scrap the queue system it and many other websites have previously used as it “unfairly” rewards those with stronger internet connections and with time to sit online.
Now Currys is allowing customers to register for a “priority pass” which enters them into a raffle which in turn gives them a special code that’s valid for 72 hours and allows them to make a PS5 purchase.
Follow our PS5 live blog below for the very latest news, updates and stock drop rumours…
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SMYTHS STOCK SELLS IN MOMENTS
New stock dropped at Smyths Toys yesterday – but (predictably) it sold out incredibly quickly.
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AUTO CHESS FOR PS5 TO DROP MARCH 30
Chess enthusiasts equipped with a PS5 console will be happy to hear the free-to-play chess simulator Auto Chess is launching later this month.
According to reports from GameSpot, Auto Chess is expected to launch on March 30 for PS5.
Gamers can expect “unreal load times” and cross-play capabilities with mobile, PC and PS4, publisher Dragonquest Co. has said.
Dragonquest took to the PlayStation blog to detail some other aspects of Auto Chess’ PlayStation 5 release, including “next-level visuals” and “seamlessly smooth graphics.”
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UK GAMING MARKET HIT RECORD £7BN DURING LOCKDOWN BOOM CONTINUED…
Dorian Bloch, senior client director at GfK, which compiled some of the gaming data, said: “Xbox One and PS4 enjoyed uplifts and of course, at the tail end of 2020 we saw the introduction of PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, whose effect will be significant for 2021 and beyond.”
The gaming sector boom is topped off by another £199million from other game culture products, such as toys and merchandise.
However, the pandemic had a negative impact on game-related properties like movies – where there was a fall of 22.2% – as well as denting physical game events and venues by 97.2%, down from £8.80 million in 2019.
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UK GAMING MARKET HIT RECORD £7BN IN 2020 DURING LOCKDOWN BOOM
Video gaming in the UK was boosted by the arrival of a “new console generation” last year as the market surged to a record £7billion.
Players pushed the sector’s value up 29.9% compared to 2019 with increases across both digital and physical sales, according to a report by gaming industry body Ukie.
Digital sales took the lion’s share totalling £3.90 billion, with digital console revenues rising 24.2%, mobile games up by 21.3% and digital PC adding 14.8%.
Despite store closures as the UK went in and out of lockdown, traditional boxed game titles also climbed by 7.1% to £646 million, but pre-owned game-buying took a hit, diving 22.8% compared to the year before.
Gaming hardware raked in £2.26 billion, thanks partly to new launches of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, with console hardware alone making up £853 million of that figure, up 74.8%.
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PS5 GIVEAWAY
A trusted stock tracker website is giving away a PS console.
To enter the competition see the tweet below.
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PLAYING DIRTY – TESCO WARNS PS5 CUSTOMERS
Tesco has warned shoppers of a new scam targeting PS5 customers.
Scammers have picked up on excess demand, creating fake offers, deals and websites to steal money from unsuspecting Brits.
Now Tesco has warned that some enterprising tricksters are using the store’s branding to con buyers out of hundreds of pounds.
“We have been made aware of an unofficial pre-order site using the Tesco branding,” the retailer explained.
“This is in no way affiliated with Tesco or Active OnDemand. Please do not use these sites to pre-order a PS5 or Xbox.”
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GENIUS PS5 CONTROLLER TRICK
Gaming fans have uncovered a genius PS5 trick that lets you mute the console with your controller.
The little-known feature is built into PlayStation’s next-gen DualSense joypad.
Silencing your console often involves physically muting the TV you’re playing on, but that’s not always ideal: maybe the remote is out of reach, or maybe you’re connected with wireless headphones.
Whatever the reason, it’s actually possible to mute the PS5’s system audio with the DualSense controller.
As revealed by The Verge (via My Mate Vince on YouTube), you can hold the microphone-mute button to mute audio.
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PRAEY FOR GODS RELEASE ‘IN LATE APRIL’
Praey for the Gods is aiming for release on PS5 and PS4 in late April.
It was announced in October last year with a 2021 launch, but nothing has yet been released.
The developers issued an update on their Kickstarter page which said it should launch in late April.
The update read: “The game is content complete, through certification on PS4/PS5/Xbox One as of this week. Woo!
“As for launch, we want to spend a little more time polishing to make sure it’s ready but it’s definitely close. Based on what’s left to do, we’re estimating for a mid/end April window and we’ll keep you posted on that.”
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FAMILY ARRESTED FOR PS5 BURGLARY
A mum and her sons have been arrested after they were caught with allegedly stolen goods – including a PlayStation 5 – in a car.
Police received information that the silver Kia the were travelling in had reportedly been involved in a burglary.
Derbyshire Roads Policing Unit said on Twitter: “Ilkeston. Report from Nottinghamshire Police that this vehicle involved in a burglary. Stopped with Derbyshire Road Crime Unit.
“Mother and her two adult sons from Stoke-on-Trent in the vehicle along with stolen iPad, PlayStation 5 and other items. All arrested.”
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STOCK UPDATE
There are no expected PS5 drops due tomorrow.
In the meantime, make sure to bookmark the retailers’ websites so you can be the first in line.
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PENSIONERS GAME FOR EIGHT HOURS A WEEK, STUDY SAYS
Pensioners are spending more than eight hours playing video games every week, a report has revealed.
An in-depth report by data experts Limelight Networks called ‘The State of Online Gaming’ even found that some OAPs are so hooked on games – either on consoles, computers or smart phones – they miss out on sleep and meals.
The study quizzed 5,000 people and found that the average pensioner played games for 8.3 hours a week.
A total of 13 per cent spent a whopping 20 hours or more playing video games, with games like Candy Crush, Clash of the Clans, World of Warcraft among the most popular, following by shoot ‘em ups, strategy games, chess and solitaire.
Compared to younger generations, the OAP gamers weren’t far behind in the top score charts, only beaten in how many hours they played games online by those in the 26-35 and 36-45 age groups.
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VERY PS5 DROP POSSIBLE APRIL 2
When it comes to the next PS5 restock for Very, “we picked up a drop pattern which points to April 2nd.
“Nothing to suggest a drop today,” tweets @PS5UKStock.
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WATCH – TRAILER OF AUTO CHESS RELEASED NEXT WEEK
Auto Chess will be released on the PS5 on March 30.
Take a sneak peek at what to expect in the trailer below.
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CONTINUED
“Chips are everything,” said Neil Campling, speaking to The Guardian.
“There’s a perfect storm of supply and demand factors going on here.
“But basically, there is a new level of demand that can’t be kept up with.
“Everyone is in crisis and it is getting worse.”
The shortage first began last year, as chip-making factories were forced to shut down during the pandemic.
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PS5 SHORTAGE COULD GET WORSE AS INSIDERS WARN GLOBAL CHIP STOCK AS REACHED ‘CRISIS’
The PS5 shortage could get worse as chip-makers struggle to meet demand.
Sony’s PlayStation 5 has been largely out of stock since November – and might not be widely available until July.
Much of this is being blamed on a global “crisis” in the computer chip world.
Demand for chips is through the roof, and suppliers can’t keep pace.
Prices of chips are rising as a result, and major manufacturers like Apple and Samsung are being prioritised.
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SMYTHS IS NOW OUT OF STOCK
Smyth’s Toys is now out of stock of their PS5 consoles.
If you didn’t manage to bag one today don’t worry, there will be plenty more opportunities very soon.
Keep an eye on our page for the latest stock updates!
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PROBLEMS WITH SMYTHS TOYS’ PS5 DROP
Gamers are reporting issues with trying to buy a PS5 from Smyths Toys.
One tweeted: “Have one [console] in basket but can’t do anything else.”
Another said: “Crashing when trying to access my basket.”
Brendan Corr reported: “I have one in my basket but it doesn’t let you check out.”
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LEGISLATION AIMED AT ‘UNFAIR’ SCALPING OF PS5 & XBOX
Daniel Sumner, a 35-year-old gamer living in Plymouth, southwest England, believes a light financial penalty “certainly won’t work” in the face of huge profits to be made by scalping.
“I feel sorry for a lot of people who work hard to buy consoles only to find themselves unable to afford them,” he said.
A group of British MPs filed a bill in mid-December to ban the “unfair” practice of scalping the Sony PlayStation 5 and the Microsoft Xbox.
People are “very angry”, said Douglas Chapman, a Scottish National Party MP who tabled the bill after dozens of calls from his constituents.
The proposal is still under consideration but has little chance of succeeding, according to Chapman, although he hopes it will “put pressure on the government to take action”.
The culture ministry said it was “discussing this issue with the trade association for the video games industry… who we understand are currently looking at any further actions” to prevent it happening”.
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ARGOS, CURRYS, CeX & PC WORLD TOLD TO UP GAME OVER PS5 SCALPERS
Responsibility for denying scalpers access to PS5 stock lies with the outlets selling consoles in the first place, such as CeX, Currys, PC World and Argos, according to some gamers.
Argos said that it has “stringent processes in place” to prevent its stocks of PS5 rapidly selling out.
“As part of this, PlayStation 5’s are limited to one per customer and any duplicate orders are cancelled,” said a spokeswoman.
But it is far cry from measures demanded by gamers, who want websites to use a “Captcha” test, which asks users to complete a task that robots cannot perform.
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£10MILLION PROFIT FOR PS5 SCALPERS – EXPERT
While a PS5 normally costs between £360 and £450, depending on the model, its median resale price on sites like eBay is £650-750, according to US researcher Michael Driscoll.
Faced with an in-store shortage, many gamers pay full price, which only feeds the scalpers’ market further.
Driscoll estimates that around 52,000 copies of both the Sony PlayStation 5 and the Microsoft Xbox consoles have been resold in Britain on eBay and StockX for a total of £42million, generating £10million in profit.
That figure is likely to hugely underestimate the problem as it only takes into account the “grey market” and not the black market, “which is definitely larger”, said Driscoll, who is from Georgia Institute of Technology in Atlanta.
The sudden surge in console scalping is being driven by much stronger demand than usual, with gamers having “extra money due to be not be able to travel” because of coronavirus restrictions, he added.
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GAMERS TAKE AIM AT GREEDY SCALPERS
British gamers and lawmakers are training their sights on “scalpers” who are snapping up coveted PS5 and Xbox consoles and selling them online at vastly inflated prices.
The popular consoles have also been hard to come by in other parts of the world, but in Britain anger has boiled over to the point where some lawmakers want to ban the practice of reselling them online at higher prices.
“I’ve been trying to get a PS5 for four months now, but I can’t get one at a normal price,” said Tracey Ford, a student in Manchester, northwest England.
The 24-year-old gamer has made frequent visits to the store, and registered for alerts when new stocks arrive — but nothing has worked.
“It’s so frustrating”, she told AFP.
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PS5 DROP AT SMYTHS!
Two Twitter accounts have just reported that PS5 stock is available at Smyths Toys UK:
Above – Smyths Toys are selling a fresh batch of PS5s -
UK GAMING MARKET HIT RECORD £7BN DURING LOCKDOWN BOOM CONTINUED…
Dorian Bloch, senior client director at GfK, which compiled some of the gaming data, said: “Xbox One and PS4 enjoyed uplifts and of course, at the tail end of 2020 we saw the introduction of PS5 and Xbox Series consoles, whose effect will be significant for 2021 and beyond.”
The gaming sector boom is topped off by another £199million from other game culture products, such as toys and merchandise.
However, the pandemic had a negative impact on game-related properties like movies – where there was a fall of 22.2% – as well as denting physical game events and venues by 97.2%, down from £8.80 million in 2019.
-
UK GAMING MARKET HIT RECORD £7BN IN 2020 DURING LOCKDOWN BOOM
Video gaming in the UK was boosted by the arrival of a “new console generation” last year as the market surged to a record £7billion.
Players pushed the sector’s value up 29.9% compared to 2019 with increases across both digital and physical sales, according to a report by gaming industry body Ukie.
Digital sales took the lion’s share totalling £3.90 billion, with digital console revenues rising 24.2%, mobile games up by 21.3% and digital PC adding 14.8%.
Despite store closures as the UK went in and out of lockdown, traditional boxed game titles also climbed by 7.1% to £646 million, but pre-owned game-buying took a hit, diving 22.8% compared to the year before.
Gaming hardware raked in £2.26 billion, thanks partly to new launches of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X, with console hardware alone making up £853 million of that figure, up 74.8%.
-
PLAYING DIRTY – TESCO WARNS PS5 CUSTOMERS
Tesco has warned shoppers of a new scam targeting PS5 customers.
Scammers have picked up on excess demand, creating fake offers, deals and websites to steal money from unsuspecting Brits.
Now Tesco has warned that some enterprising tricksters are using the store’s branding to con buyers out of hundreds of pounds.
“We have been made aware of an unofficial pre-order site using the Tesco branding,” the retailer explained.
“This is in no way affiliated with Tesco or Active OnDemand. Please do not use these sites to pre-order a PS5 or Xbox.”
This post first appeared on Thesun.co.uk
