PlayStation apologises for pre-orders. Promises more on the way

Last week, Sony finally dropped the PS5 news we'd all been waiting for, confirming the price and pre-order date of its next-gen console.  

Both the standard and Digital Edition PS5 pre-orders went live in the wake of the PS5 event, pipping the Xbox Series X to the post by a week, but they sold out fast at a number of retailers. 

Sony boss Jim Ryan attempted to alleviate concerns about PS5 stock, dismissing reports that the number of units in production had been cut, but the pre-order situation has now been addressed directly. 

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Tweeting out over the weekend, the official PlayStation account threw its hands up and admitted that the PS5 pre-order situation hasn't gone smoothly, and backed up Jim Ryan's assurances that there will be enough consoles to fulfil the demand.

As is the case with sought-after products, there's a contingent of people who are snapping up pre-orders with the intent to re-sell the console at an extortionate price. Over on eBay, 'confirmed' PS5 pre-orders are being sold for well above the hardware's $499 / £449 / €499. AU$749.95 price tag, like this one for £900.

Meanwhile, customers who have placed pre-orders are being told they may not receive them on launch day, with Geoff Keighley sharing the email notification he received from Amazon to that effect.

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Meanwhile some UK retailers have been inundated with pre-orders but have been let down by their systems which are accepting customer orders without actually being able to fulfil them. 

Argos, for example, is telling customers that if they haven't received email confirmation within two hours of placing an order, it hasn't been accepted.  

Some have gone so far as to cancel pre-orders (via Eurogamer) citing "extremely high demand and limited availability."

If you've placed a pre-order, it looks like you'll need to wait for a confirmation that your order is going to be fulfilled before you can even think about relaxing, and even then, you should keep checking your inbox for updates – just in case.

Hopefully, the panic will be short-lived and Sony will ship out additional stock to deal with the surging demand.  

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