PS5 restock at Argos frustrates fans again, as attention turns to Amazon and Currys

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Another PlayStation 5 restock has left fans frustrated after it arrived in the middle of the night.

The long-rumoured arrival of the new consoles at Argos finally came around 4am this morning, meaning only those who had stayed up or otherwise was awake at anti-social hours were able to get hold of one.

Even some of those who were around for the restock were left unable to buy one because of technical issues and other problems.

The frustrations have even led ambitious buys to try extra tricks. Those have included adding using the Argos mobile app to add the PlayStation 5 to a wish-list ahead of time, and then buying it through there, though that solution only works for Android phones – leading to yet more irritation and workarounds.

Others have tried even more roundabout strategies, including calling retailers’ customer services numbers and asking about consoles.

It continues a running story throughout the release of the console in which fans have been less frustrated by early starts, lack of communication, and stock that sells out almost instantly in part because they are beaten out by automated systems.

Fans are now turning to rumoured restocks at other retailers including Amazon and Currys. But even the established trends among other retailers – including the fact that Amazon tends to drop its consoles earlier in the week – appear to being disrupted, meaning that anyone eager to buy a console

It has now been four months since the PlayStation 5 was released in mid-November, but the lack of restocks – and the demand for them – is yet to cease.

The problems have left fans frustrated with a process that has forced them to follow a variety of Twitter accounts and other methods to try and get to new supply before other people and bots snap them up.

The demand has also led to high values on the grey market, where resellers make consoles available for vastly more than their retail price after buying them through stores.

Sony has committed to doing all it can to increase the supply of the consoles, but has been hit by problems arising from lockdowns and a chip shortage.

Last month, PlayStation boss Jim Ryan said the company was doing all it could to improve the situation through the year, ahead of a dramatic increase in the second half of 2021 – but was unable to commit to the consoles being freely available during the holiday period.