PlayStation 5 will not be available to purchase in-store on launch day

By Giovanni Colantonio Published November 11, 2020

Sony announced that PlayStation 5 will no longer be available for in-store purchase on launch day. The next-generation console will only be available to purchase online.

“In the interest of keeping our gamers, retailers, and staff safe amidst COVID-19, today we are confirming that all day-of launch sales will be conducted through the online stores of our retail partners,” says a blog post from Sony.

Recommended Videos

The company says that no retailers will be selling PlayStation 5’s in-store when the console launches on November 12 in the U.S. or November 19 in other regions. Sony urged fans not to camp out or form early lines at stores, which is common during new console launches.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

Sony notes that fans “should” still be able to pick up any pre-ordered consoles from local retailers at a designated appointment time, though they urge fans to check with their retailer directly to confirm. A recent Target ad echoed the move to online-only sales, confirming that the console is still available for order pick-ups in-store and via drive up.

The announcement comes as COVID-19 continues to surge in the U.S., with daily cases now topping 100,000. On several occasions throughout the year, Sony reaffirmed that the pandemic will not affect the PlayStation 5’s launch date plans. At the moment, Microsoft has not announced plans to take the same online-only route with the Xbox Series X and Series S.

Fans looking to purchase a PlayStation 5 digitally will luckily have more opportunities to do so before the year ends. Best Buy recently confirmed that the console will be available to purchase online during its upcoming Black Friday sale.

Topics

Giovanni Colantonio

Senior Gaming Editor

As Digital Trends' Senior Gaming Editor, Giovanni Colantonio oversees all things video games at Digital Trends. As a veteran…

Gaming

PS4 Pro vs. PS5

PS5 and DualSense art.

If you've been holding out on making the leap to the current generation but are feeling the pull to experience the best PS5 games your PS4 Pro can't run, we don't blame you. There's no denying that the new system is far more powerful than even the PS4 Pro, plus has plenty of great accessories and controllers to take your games to the next level. But besides access to all the current and upcoming PS5 games, what kind of improvements can you really expect, and is it really worth the extra money?

Here's what you need to know about Sony's latest console, and how much of an improvement you're likely to see should you decide to make the jump to next-gen.
PS4 Pro vs. PS5 specs

Gaming

How Astro Bot charmed its way to becoming our Game of the Year

Game of the Year: Astro Bot

The process of picking one “game of the year” is a journey marked by second-guessing. Not a December goes by at Digital Trends where we aren’t agonizing over our annual top 10 list. Do we actually love Baldur’s Gate 3 as much as we think or are we giving in to the pressures of critical consensus? Is Elden Ring a lame year-end pick when we could be celebrating something like Immortality that still sticks with us years later? Are we weighing independent games enough in our deliberations? These are the kind of questions that keep us up at night as winter begins.

This year, we were faced with a similar mental puzzle. After 12 months of obsessively tracking our GOTY front-runners in detailed spreadsheets, one game was left standing: Astro Bot. The delightful platformer had won our hearts thanks to its precise platforming, good-natured attitude, and toylike design. It seemed like a no-brainer, but it was still hard to combat that lingering doubt as one question still haunted us.

Gaming

PowerWash Simulator’s latest seasonal update is here, and it’s festive

powerwash simulator seasonal update festive pws icerink 1920x1080 2 t37iflna

With all of the political turmoil right now, it can be hard to get in the festive spirit — but PowerWash Simulator wants to help with its latest free update, offering a Christmas-themed ice rink map to explore and clean up. You might think you've gotten your fill of that already, especially if you had to clean real-world decorations before bringing them in from the garage, but we promise that digital muck is a lot more fun to clean up than the real thing. And we'll take digital spiders over the real ones any day of the week. Grab a nice warm cup of hot chocolate, some comfortable shoes, and snuggle up for a night of the most fun cleaning you've ever done.

The update introduces a new, free DLC that comes with the ice rink area, as well as winter weather gear so that you can bundle up while on the job. The clothing includes a cleaning suit emblazoned with snowflakes, a candy cane theme for the sprayer, and more. If you've never played the game before, now's the perfect chance. The update also comes with a free demo so you can get a taste of what makes this game so relaxing to play. If you find you enjoy it, there's plenty more free DLC to check out yourself, as well as paid DLC for fans of Shrek and Warhammer: 40,000.