'LAST CHANCE': Game urges PS5 and Xbox Series X pre-order customers to go to stores before lockdown begins

(Sony)

Game has urged customers who have in-store pre-orders for the PS5 or Xbox Series X to go to its shops before lockdown begins.

Customers who pre-ordered for in-store pickup were given guaranteed consoles, so long as they paid for them in time. But both the PS5 and Xbox Series X and Series S are due to be released while the UK is in lockdown and non-essential shops including Game will be shut.

As such, the retailers has urged customers to go to stores today to "pre-purchase" their console and pay the price up-front. Their console will then be available for collection on launch day, presumably under exemptions that allow click and collect services to keep running despite lockdown.

In a tweet, it told customers that it was their “LAST CHANCE” to buy their consoles, presumably meaning that anyone who does not pre-purchase before England’s lockdown begins at midnight will lose their pre-order status.

The warning does not affect those customers who bought their consoles online, including those who had opted to use the click and collect service to pick up their orders in-store.

Customers were warned to “please keep an eye on your email inbox and junk folder as more comms may be sent with important information”, in the all-caps announcement.

The plea to Game customers to come to stores despite the ongoing pandemic and imminent lockdown is just the latest in a difficult pre-order process for the next-generation Xboxes and PlayStations.

Both consoles sold out almost immediately as pre-orders opened, leaving fans scrambling to find availability in stores.

The confusion was such that Sony was forced to apologise to customers over the difficulties, which began when pre-orders went online earlier than promised, spreading confusion about how to actually get hold of a console.

"Let’s be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologise for that," the official PlayStation account said in a tweet in September, soon after the consoles went on sale.

"Over the next few days, we will release more PS5 consoles for preorder – retailers will share more details.  

"And more PS5s will be available through the end of the year."