Black Friday
PlayStation 5 Consoles Will Only Be Sold Online at Launch
By Simon Hung
November 6, 2020The PlayStation 5 launch is less than a week away and there's good news for Canadians who weren't lucky enough to reserve a pre-order, as there will be stock available on launch day this Thursday, November 12, but only online.
Lengthy lineups during new console launches is a gaming tradition that dates back several generations, but Sony is hoping to avoid that exact scenario by moving to an online-only launch to keep gamers and retail staff safe amid the ongoing pandemic. The lone exception to this mandate involves anyone who pre-ordered a PS5 for in-store pickup, as retailers will provide instructions on how to safely pickup your console on launch day.
The move is a wise decision for both Sony and video game retailers across Canada, as an online launch will help mitigate the chances of large crowds and avoid negative press – back in March, EB Games received intense scrutiny for allowing gamers to lineup for the launch of Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Doom Eternal, despite a government order to close non-essential businesses.
As of November 6, Best Buy, EB Games, Shoppers Drug Mart, The Source, Toys R Us and Walmart have each confirmed that online stock will be available for launch day, but exact availability times and stock levels will likely remain a mystery until late-Wednesday or early-Thursday – read our roundup of Where to Buy the PlayStation 5 in Canada to see other retailers where stock may be available this Thursday.
Sony's PlayStation 5 is their successor to the PlayStation 4 and one of the most sought-after products this holiday season, capable of playing next-generation games at up to 4K, ray-tracing, SSD storage and backwards compatibility with most PS4 games. The console will come in two variants – a Standard Edition with a built-in Blu-ray drive and a Digital Edition. Both models have identical hardware, but the Digital Edition omits a disc drive, which means it can only play digital games from the PlayStation Store and cannot play Blu-ray movies.
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Source: Sony
Showing 40 Most Recent Comments
View allPretty happy to have one, given how hard it seems to score them.
They knocked on the door and left the package on my porch; ripe for porch pirates to scoop up if I hadn't come out right away.
The package had a very clearly marked "this side up", but was left on my porch upside down.
This is a Christmas gift for kids, but I think I'm going to check contents ahead of time in case there's any issues.
Still.....glad I was able to scoop a unit up for Christmas.
first it was nov 17, then nov 23 and now it is still delayed. Canada post provides vague updates on the tracking as well.
I wonder how I will know if it’s there at the post office yet? Don’t want to have to wait another day if it’s sitting there and I don’t have pick card.
Well no card was in my mail box... so I called SDM. The CSR explained to me that Canada Post likely redirected the item to be picked up so as to not leave a pricey item on a door step. Also that the delivery notice would probably come with my regular mail.
All of that was true. I had opened up a ticket through Canada Post to get updates and shortly after I was emailed that the item was ready for pick up. I was able to use the email instead of the delivery notice to pick up. Which I did. PS5 is home!
TL;DR sit tight SDM orders they will be yours.
Current price is $960-$980 for PS5 disk and $100 less for digital.
They probably shipped all production up to Mid October and that is months and months of productions
Production from mid-oct to mid-Nov will be for Black Friday
Production from mid-nov to mid dec will be for Xmas
so expect very limited supply - major markets will likely get more, ie the US, Europe
Canada is a fairly small market but we will get some...very limited
hopes not high
It's because they finally got it as "item processed" today. But that should mean delivery Monday or Tuesday at this rate...
Too bad it's also pick up from post office, but guess that's the safer route these days.
Lets hope canada gets some of that too
'Hi,
Unfortunately, we had a technical issue that caused a lot of our orders were stuck on our system and could not shipped and when the issue was resolve a lot of orders were cancelled. the feedback were sent to the correct department. The money has been reverse to your account'
I'm guessing the errors were caused by the people who figured out how to bypass the queue.