Everyone sees this and is still disappointed. fans are The PlayStation 5 30th Anniversary Collection Is Drool-worthyWhen it was released earlier this month, it was filled with nostalgia and a clean aesthetic. Many of them stared blankly at PlayStation Direct pre-order screens today, watching them sell out while waiting in confusing online queues and battling glitchy website buttons.
30th Anniversary Series Taking reservations earlier today It turns out that the limited-edition PS5 Pro bundle (only 12,300 units were produced) isn’t the only thing that feels impossible to get. Pre-orders for the PS1-style PS5 slim bundle, PS Portal, and DualSense controller also disappeared almost immediately, which begs the eternal question: why isn’t Sony making these in the quantities people want?
Panic started overnight, with anecdotes about Australia and the UK starting to pour in, with pre-orders starting at 10am local time in each region, but then starting to disappear immediately. Reseller listing appears on eBay The price is five to ten times the suggested retail price. As the 30th anniversary pre-order window approaches in the U.S., people trying to load the PlayStation Direct page early only to be stuck in a queue with wait times estimated to be over an hour.
The initial confusion was compounded by the fact that Sony never really gave fans a clear idea of what to expect during the pre-order process. After launching the 30th anniversary edition of the PS5 series, it only stated that it would go on sale on September 26, but did not notify the official start time or even price in advance. Essentially, how it works is that people trying to order from PlayStation Direct are placed in a waiting room, randomly given a spot in line, and then they can order whatever is left, which for most people, including myself It doesn’t seem like much to a human being.
Was it because I didn’t get into the waiting room earlier? Or did I just get a bad spot in the queue? Is there a better way to handle this whole thing? There are anecdotal reports of people arriving at stores only to be thrown back into the waiting room. When they enter the store, buying something is still confusing. Even items that are not shown as sold, such as the PS1 DualSense controller, are not available for purchase when you click “Add to Cart.”
It looks like those who just want an $80 controller are actually having better luck purchasing a PS5 controller through retailers like Amazon, Best Buy, and GameStop, whose PS5 controller pre-orders are running in tandem with PlayStation Direct. However, these also sold out quickly. Additional inventory may be released in batches, as Sony did when demand overwhelmed supply when it initially launched the PS5. But I’m also not sure why Sony isn’t trying to sell as many PS1-style controllers as possible, at least to those who order them in the next few months.
This is the cheapest option for fans who want to be part of the anniversary campaign, or who just really like the idea of their modern nights spent in front of the original PS1 being conveyed. Maybe Sony is just testing the initial demand and will come back later with bottomless Santa bags filled with 30th Anniversary PS5 goodies come the holidays. If not, the 30th Anniversary PS5 DualSense controller is already available eBay up to $200.
