SMYTHS and Very could drop PS5 consoles TOMORROW, but other online stores and shops may be empty due to the Evergiven ship crisis.
Tracker account PS5StockAlert predicts consoles at the two retailers will drop between Tuesday, April 13 and Thursday, April 15 – but the retailers themselves have not confirmed restock dates.
It comes after gamers were left disappointed when rumours of a Smyths restock swirling on social media throughout last week came to nothing.
The popular info account says the backlog of shipments is likely caused by the Evergiven ship becoming stuck in Suez Canal earlier this month.
It tweeted: “The #Evergiven ship has caused major disruptions in shipments arriving and getting through customs.
“At this rate, next week seems unlikely too.”
Meanwhile, online retailer Amazon is also predicted to get new stock in later in April.
And at this stage it remains unclear as to whether physical stock will appear in shops today when Covid restrictions are lifted.
This is due to Sony not updating its current policy on a ban on physical sales of products in shops during lockdown.
Follow our PS5 live blog below for the very latest news, updates and stock drop rumours…
-
OUTRIDERS PATCH ARRIVES EARLY FOR PLAYSTATION
A patch for Outriders has arrived earlier than expected for PC and PlayStation consoles.
It fixes some bugs as well as some crossplay issues, according to Tech Radar.
Although Xbox gamers will have to wait for theirs.
Square Enix states: “We are hoping to have this patch ready for Xbox very soon and will update you the moment we have news.”
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PLAYSTATION STORE SPRING SALE FINISHES WEDNESDAY
The PlayStation Store’s annual Spring Sale is live now with deals on more than 700 PS5 and PS4 games.
The first wave of deals are live until April 14, which is when the second wave kicks off.
The sale includes a huge variety of games, including exclusives such as Ghost of Tsushima and The Last of Us Part 2.
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BATMAN GOTHAM KNIGHTS RELEASE DELAYED UNTIL 2022
The release of forthcoming Batman game Gotham Knights has been pushed back to 2022.
In a statement published on social media, Warner said it was “giving the game more time to deliver the best possible experience for players”.
“Thank you to our amazing fans for your tremendous support of Gotham Knights,” it continued.
“We look forward to showcasing more of the game in the coming months.”
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PLAYSTATION COULD BE LOOKING TO BOOST ITS MOBILE GAMING
PlayStation could be planning to develop and expand its mobile gaming offering, if a recent PlayStation Studios job listing is anything to go by.
The job listing, shared on the ResetEra forums (via IGN), is for a new Head of Mobile at PlayStation Studios, reports Tech Radar.
According to the job description, Sony Interactive Entertainment is looking for someone based in San Mateo or Los Angeles to “own and develop the mobile games strategy for PlayStation Studios” and be “responsible for building and scaling a team of mobile leaders and will serve as the Head of this new business unit within PlayStation Studios.”
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EVERGIVEN SHIP DELAYS CAUSED MAJOR DISRUPTIONS IN SHIPMENTS OF PS5 CONSOLES – ‘NEXT WEEK SEEMS UNLIKELY TOO’
A stock tracker has posted a list of online retailers whose next stock drop is currently “unknown”.
@PS5StockAlertUK says the delays to worldwide shipments has been caused by the Evergiven ship becoming stuck in the Suez Canal.
The stock tracker tweeted: “The image below is from our dedicated channel on stock drop predictions, which can be found in our Discord server.
“As you can see, the #Evergiven ship has caused major disruptions in shipments arriving and getting through customs.
“At this rate, next week seems unlikely too.”
-
SONY REVEALS MOST POPULAR GAMES IN PLAYSTATION STORE
Sony has revealed the most popular games in the PlayStation Store for March.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the most popular game for PS5 on the PlayStation Store in the US while FIFA 21 was tops in Europe.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales came in second in the US and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War took that slot in Europe, according to VG24/7.
NBA 2K21 was third in the US, while newcomer It Takes Two was the third most popular title in Europe.
-
MASS EFFECT LEGENDARY EDITION GOES GOLD
Mass Effect Legendary Edition has now gone gold, meaning the remastered collection of the original trilogy is ready for release.
The announcement came from Mac Walters, the Project Director of Mass Effect Legendary Edition at BioWare, who revealed the news on his own Twitter account.
One major focus of remastering the trilogy has been combat tuning, according to The Sixth Axis.
-
VIDEO GAME UNDER CRITICISM
A controversial video game set during the Iraq War’s bloodiest battle has come under fresh criticism ahead of its release this year.
A prominent Muslim advocacy group has called on PlayStation and Xbox to ban Six Days in Fallujah, branding the game an “Arab murder simulator”.
Developed by Highware Games, Six Days in Fallujah has repeatedly come under fire over what some see as an attempt to glorify a violent and tragic battle.
In a statement this week, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) dragged the game’s contentious subject matter back into the spotlight again.
-
WHAT IS E3 2021?
E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, a major trade event for the video game industry.
Until 2017, it was an industry-only event for developers, publishers, manufacturers, media and the like.
But it’s since become a major public spectacle with general gaming fans given access too.
Last year saw E3 totally cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully E3 is returning for 2021 – albeit in a virtual-only capacity.
-
OUTRIDERS PATCH ARRIVES EARLY FOR PLAYSTATION
A patch for Outriders has arrived earlier than expected for PC and PlayStation consoles.
It fixes some bugs as well as some crossplay issues, according to Tech Radar.
Although Xbox gamers will have to wait for theirs.
Square Enix states: “We are hoping to have this patch ready for Xbox very soon and will update you the moment we have news.”
-
PS5 SCALPERS REVEAL HOW THEY RAKE IN CASH USING BOTS
The scarcity of PS5 consoles has meant profit for “scalpers”. These bedroom traders use bots to buy up sought-after stock and sell it on at inflated prices.
One teen told the BBC he has made at least £10,000 since November.
Jake, 18, said: “At the start when stock was limited, you could easily sell a PS5 for £800.”
Sam, 17, said she made £2,000 a month. She said: “I’m not a scammer. I’m an entrepreneur of sorts.
“The reality is we buy stock, we own it, we can set the price. Some of the people in these groups do this to feed their families.”
-
WHEN DOES FORTNITE SEASON 7 START?
The current season is only a few weeks old but attention is already looking to the future.
According to the Epic website the current Primal Battle Pass runs until June 7, 2021, and the in-game Battle Pass screen also says “Chapter 2 – Season 6 through June 8th”, which should place the Fortnite Season 7 start date in the week commencing June 7, 2021, reports Games Radar.
-
NO SALES EXPECTED WHEN RETAILERS OPEN SHOPS NEXT WEEK
After its last tweet about the Evergiven ship, the stock tracker site also says it doubts Ps5 consoles will be available in stores.
It says this is because Sony is yet to update it’s ban on physical sales due to Covid-19.
@PS5StockAlertUK tweeted: “Please note that these are for online sales only.
“We have not heard from Sony about changing the COVID policy they set at launch, which stated no sales to be made in-store to prevent contributing to the spread of the virus.
“As this has not changed, we doubt in-store sales.”
-
PLAYSTATION COULD BE LOOKING TO BOOST ITS MOBILE GAMING
PlayStation could be planning to develop and expand its mobile gaming offering, if a recent PlayStation Studios job listing is anything to go by.
The job listing, shared on the ResetEra forums (via IGN), is for a new Head of Mobile at PlayStation Studios, reports Tech Radar.
According to the job description, Sony Interactive Entertainment is looking for someone based in San Mateo or Los Angeles to “own and develop the mobile games strategy for PlayStation Studios” and be “responsible for building and scaling a team of mobile leaders and will serve as the Head of this new business unit within PlayStation Studios.”
-
EVERGIVEN SHIP DELAYS CAUSE MAJOR DISRUPTIONS IN SHIPMENTS OF PS5 – ‘NEXT WEEK SEEMS UNLIKLEY TOO’
A stock tracker has posted a list of online retailers whose next stock drop is currently “unknown”.
@PS5StockAlertUK says the delays to worldwide shipments has been caused by the Evergiven ship becoming stuck in the Suez Canal.
The stock tracker tweeted: “The image below is from our dedicated channel on stock drop predictions, which can be found in our Discord server.
“As you can see, the #Evergiven ship has caused major disruptions in shipments arriving and getting through customs.
“At this rate, next week seems unlikely too.”
-
SONY REVEALS MOST POPULAR GAMES IN PLAYSTATION STORE
Sony has revealed the most popular games in the PlayStation Store for March.
Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War was the most popular game for PS5 on the PlayStation Store in the US while FIFA 21 was tops in Europe.
Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales came in second in the US and Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War took that slot in Europe, according to VG24/7.
NBA 2K21 was third in the US, while newcomer It Takes Two was the third most popular title in Europe.
-
MASS EFFECT LEGENDARY EDITION GOES GOLD
Mass Effect Legendary Edition has now gone gold, meaning the remastered collection of the original trilogy is ready for release.
The announcement came from Mac Walters, the Project Director of Mass Effect Legendary Edition at BioWare, who revealed the news on his own Twitter account.
One major focus of remastering the trilogy has been combat tuning, according to The Sixth Axis.
-
VIDEO GAME UNDER CRITICISM
A controversial video game set during the Iraq War’s bloodiest battle has come under fresh criticism ahead of its release this year.
A prominent Muslim advocacy group has called on PlayStation and Xbox to ban Six Days in Fallujah, branding the game an “Arab murder simulator”.
Developed by Highware Games, Six Days in Fallujah has repeatedly come under fire over what some see as an attempt to glorify a violent and tragic battle.
In a statement this week, The Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR) dragged the game’s contentious subject matter back into the spotlight again.
-
WHAT IS E3 2021?
E3 is the Electronic Entertainment Expo, a major trade event for the video game industry.
Until 2017, it was an industry-only event for developers, publishers, manufacturers, media and the like.
But it’s since become a major public spectacle with general gaming fans given access too.
Last year saw E3 totally cancelled due to the ongoing Covid-19 pandemic. Thankfully E3 is returning for 2021 – albeit in a virtual-only capacity.
-
OUTRIDERS PATCH ARRIVES EARLY FOR PLAYSTATION
A patch for Outriders has arrived earlier than expected for PC and PlayStation consoles.
It fixes some bugs as well as some crossplay issues, according to Tech Radar.
Although Xbox gamers will have to wait for theirs.
Square Enix states: “We are hoping to have this patch ready for Xbox very soon and will update you the moment we have news.”
-
PS5 SCALPERS REVEAL HOW THEY RAKE IN CASH USING BOTS
The scarcity of PS5 consoles has meant profit for “scalpers”. These bedroom traders use bots to buy up sought-after stock and sell it on at inflated prices.
One teen told the BBC he has made at least £10,000 since November.
Jake, 18, said: “At the start when stock was limited, you could easily sell a PS5 for £800.”
Sam, 17, said she made £2,000 a month. She said: “I’m not a scammer. I’m an entrepreneur of sorts.
“The reality is we buy stock, we own it, we can set the price. Some of the people in these groups do this to feed their families.”
-
WHEN DOES FORTNITE SEASON 7 START?
The current season is only a few weeks old but attention is already looking to the future.
According to the Epic website the current Primal Battle Pass runs until June 7, 2021, and the in-game Battle Pass screen also says “Chapter 2 – Season 6 through June 8th”, which should place the Fortnite Season 7 start date in the week commencing June 7, 2021, reports Games Radar.
-
NO SALES EXPECTED WHEN RETAILERS OPEN SHOPS NEXT WEEK
After its last tweet about the Evergiven ship, the stock tracker site also says it doubts Ps5 consoles will be available in stores.
It says this is because Sony is yet to update it’s ban on physical sales due to Covid-19.
@PS5StockAlertUK tweeted: “Please note that these are for online sales only.
“We have not heard from Sony about changing the COVID policy they set at launch, which stated no sales to be made in-store to prevent contributing to the spread of the virus.
“As this has not changed, we doubt in-store sales.”
-
PLAYSTATION COULD BE LOOKING TO BOOST ITS MOBILE GAMING
PlayStation could be planning to develop and expand its mobile gaming offering, if a recent PlayStation Studios job listing is anything to go by.
The job listing, shared on the ResetEra forums (via IGN), is for a new Head of Mobile at PlayStation Studios, reports Tech Radar.
According to the job description, Sony Interactive Entertainment is looking for someone based in San Mateo or Los Angeles to “own and develop the mobile games strategy for PlayStation Studios” and be “responsible for building and scaling a team of mobile leaders and will serve as the Head of this new business unit within PlayStation Studios.”
-
EVERGIVEN SHIP DELAYS CAUSE MAJOR DISRUPTIONS IN SHIPMENTS OF PS5 – ‘NEXT WEEK SEEMS UNLIKLEY TOO’
A stock tracker has posted a list of online retailers whose next stock drop is currently “unknown”.
@PS5StockAlertUK says the delays to worldwide shipments has been caused by the Evergiven ship becoming stuck in the Suez Canal.
The stock tracker tweeted: “The image below is from our dedicated channel on stock drop predictions, which can be found in our Discord server.
“As you can see, the #Evergiven ship has caused major disruptions in shipments arriving and getting through customs.
“At this rate, next week seems unlikely too.”
