Sony Introduces Lottery-Style Registration for a Chance to Buy a PS5 During the Holidays

Between the pandemic, online bots, scalpers, and increasing demand, the PlayStation 5 is soon to be a year from launch and still a challenge to get your hands on. Sony recently announced that, for the coming Holiday season, they will be holding a lottery-style registration event that will give consumers the chance to purchase one of the limited PS5 Consoles in stock directly from PlayStation.

PlayStation 5: everything you need to know about Sony's newest consoles - The Verge — PlayStation 5 consoles remain in high demand as a result of its short supply (Credit: Sony)

Registration is simple: sign-in to your PlayStation Network account and click “sign-up” on the registration screen. After that, it’s anyone’s guess. There’s a short FAQ at the bottom of the page that provides some details about the selection process. For instance, when looking at who will be selected to receive an invitation, the response is simply, “Our selection is based on previous interests and PlayStation activities.”

PS5 restock updates: Where to get a console - CNET — Next-gen console restock updates have been coming from all corners of the internet since their release (Credit: Andrew Hoyle/CNET)

Another caveat is that, even though an invitation is received, it still doesn’t guarantee you a console. As the FAQ states, “Each invitation is open for a limited time and quantities are limited per PSN ID per transaction.” Despite this, your invitation will still give you a clear expiration date and time to secure your purchase. Those who register will begin receiving email notifications of their selection starting November 2021.

The lottery-style registration screen at the PlayStation website (Credit: Sony)

The Holiday season is fast approaching and with it, hordes of gamers clamoring for the newest console out. In this case, both the PS5 and Xbox One Series X/S inventory have been ransacked by the pandemic and then some. Like sports memorabilia and trading cards at the height of COVID, next-gen consoles were quickly overwhelmed by a demand that lingers well into a year since their release.

PlayStation 5 hunters can tackle scalpers and bots with the help of the updated OctoShop PS5 stock tracker Chrome extension - NotebookCheck.net News — The OctoShop PS5 stock tracker Chrome extension (Credit: InStok/*NotebookCheck*)

Consumers have had to rely on Twitter accounts that track store inventory, news updates that feature upcoming stock of the consoles, and even internet browser tools, like OctoShop for Chrome, to stay in the know about when consoles become available. Private sellers have made the resale landscape for next-gen consoles a nightmare, with the PS5 first reselling for well over $1,000. Little has been done to address these issues head-on, but this week’s announcement from Sony may very well be a welcome reprieve for many.