PS5: Sony urges people not to go to shops in search of PlayStation

(Sony)

Sony has urged PlayStation fans in search of its new console not to go to shops on the release date.

There will be none of the new PS5s actually able to buy in an attempt to keep people safe from the coronavirus outbreak, the company has warned.

The PlayStation 5 will go on sale on 12 November in the US and select other regions, before opening out to other countries including the UK a week later, on 19 November.

But any sales that are made on that day will be purely online, Sony’s Sid Shuman wrote in a new blog post.

The decision had been made “in the interest of keeping our gamers, retailers, and staff safe amidst COVID-19”, Mr Shuman wrote.

“Please don’t plan on camping out or lining up at your local retailer on launch day in hopes of finding a PS5 console for purchase,” he noted. "Be safe, stay home, and place your order online."

The announcement does not affect pre-orders that require customers to go and pick up their consoles in stores. Those will still go ahead, though customers will be given a designated time and may have to follow extra safety protocols.

That will be the case in the UK, despite the fact that games retailers have shut under new lockdown measures. Those rules include an exception for click-and-collect, which should cover PlayStation 5 pre-orders.

Sony’s announcement comes a day after UK chain Game warned its users that it was their “LAST CHANCE” to come to stores and pay for any consoles that had been ordered for in-store pick-up, before those new measures went into effect and their pre-orders would be cancelled.

The new blog post only warned people about arriving at stores on release date, but it is likely the initiative will mean that retailers in all countries are more likely to have stock online that they are in physical stores.

Mr Shuman’s warning not to camp out outside stores comes as fans struggle to get even a chance to buy the new console. Pre-orders opened in September, but immediately sold out, and the consoles have been largely unavailable ever since.

Sony admitted in a tweet posted soon after that pre-order process that there had been significant problems with the roll-out, and apologised to anyone affected.

"Let’s be honest: PS5 preorders could have been a lot smoother. We truly apologise for that," the official PlayStation account said.

"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."