Featured Image Credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment
Topics: PlayStation, PlayStation 5, Sony
Were you one of the many who missed out on a 30th-anniversary PS5 Pro because of scalpers? Did you look on eBay shortly after seeing they were out of stock and saw consoles that were well over the ticket price?
Well, Sony is trying their hardest to curb scalpers, at least in Japan and this new practice may make things easier for all players in the future.
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Upon seeing the scalpers get their fill when the 30th-anniversary console launched in the US and UK, Sony Japan has added a stipulation to their buying procedure.
Only players whose PSN accounts have at least 30 hours of playtime across either PS4 or PS5 will be eligible to buy the new console.
On top of this, accounts have to have been registered in Japan and playtime must have been accrued between 14 February 2014 and 19 September 2024.
Will this help? It will go some way to ensuring that the right people are buying the console, but the rules are still pretty flexible.
The key part of this is the date of 19 September 2024 which means that scalpers can’t just switch on a PS4 or PS5 today and leave it running for 30 hours in order to qualify.
This will ensure that genuine players will have the chance to snag a console. Of course, it’s still a limited edition, so demand will be heavy, but at least there are steps to prevent unfair practices.
Many will be watching this system to see how effective it is. Were this to work and cut down on the number of scalpers grabbing the PS5 Pro it could point to a more positive future.
It’s a shame this wasn’t planned ahead of the US and UK preorder launch but we could see it implemented with new hardware.