PS5 pre-orders: Sony apologises and admits that release of new PlayStation ‘could have been a lot smoother'

Andrew Griffin
Monday 21 September 2020 12:37 BST
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Sony "truly apologises" for the ongoing problems with the release of the PlayStation 5, it has said.

The company opened pre-orders for the new console by surprise last week, leaving many customers unprepared for the process, and complaints that it has been unfair and overly difficult to order the console.

Customers have complained that consoles are out of stock, that they were told they had successfully pre-ordered only to find that the PlayStation would not be delivered until after the release date, and had to struggle against people buying the consoles only to sell them for inflated prices on eBay.

Now Sony has admitted that the the process "could have been a lot smoother" and indicated that stock will continue to be released.

"Let’s be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologise for that," the official PlayStation account said in a tweet.

"Over the next few days, we will release more PS5 consoles for preorder – retailers will share more details.  

"And more PS5s will be available through the end of the year."

Problems with the PS5 pre-order process began after a “showcase” event on Wednesday evening, in which Sony revealed a host of new games for the console and concluded with the long-awaited announcement of a price and release date.

Straight after the event, it said that pre-orders of the console would open the next morning. But many retailers began earlier than that, sending some fans scrambling to try and pre-order one while others missed out entirely.

That was despite Sony’s promise that the pre-order process would be announced well in advance and that there would be no need to rush to take part in the process.

The resulting problems have left many players struggling to get hold of the console, and frantically watching for new pre-order opportunities to open up.

In the wake of the problems, Microsoft committed to be transparent about the exact time that its Xbox Series X and S pre-orders would open. They begin on 22 September and the company has released precise timings.

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