Failure to launch: How we struggled to buy the PS5 and...

The Xbox Series X, Xbox Series S, and PlayStation 5 are finally here and for many of us with The edgeThis was one of the most anticipated weeks of the year. But in fact it wasn’t easy to get a console, even those that were pre-ordered.

As with any major hardware introduction, demand is already rising above the roof, so the consoles are sold out immediately. The pandemic has almost certainly thrown lots of wrenches into the already complicated logistical challenge of shipping millions of game consoles around the world. And there has also been a frustrating lack of communication from retailers about when and where to expect consoles, leaving customers desperate to search the internet for clues on how to get their hands on the new machines – and are often still empty.

A couple of us join The edge went hunting this week and we wanted to share our experience. We hope that anyone who wants one of the new consoles from Microsoft or Sony can get one soon.

Nick Instead: I was one of the few lucky enough to get a PlayStation 5 pre-order when the floodgates opened in September. I also had an Xbox Series S in mind, but felt like I was waiting for it, thinking it might be easier to secure the less powerful, cheaper Xbox closer to launch day.

I was wrong. Both Xbox consoles, like both versions of the PS5, are sold out almost everywhere. I watched with a mixture of horror and relief how long some of my friends, co-workers, and casual internet shoppers tried to snag a pre-order or re-order unit.

It was a mess, and I would have very much wished that both companies had better expectations of the number of units available and what retailers would do to ensure fair and reasonable pre-order processes that weren’t plagued by scalpers and bots. We didn’t see any of it – it was absolutely free for everyone, and none of the companies seem willing to at least make a statement or simply point out the COVID-19 pandemic as an obvious hurdle, something I think is a This would go a long way in easing the tension in securing these products on the first day.

Of course, I’ve also viewed my PS5 Walmart pre-order with increasing concern, as it hadn’t shipped earlier this week, despite the PS5 launch approaching within a few days. I was then informed of a possible delay and was hoping to get the console on the launch weekend.

To my surprise, Walmart shipped my device from Kentucky late Wednesday and arrived in New York on Thursday evening. It’s since hit my doorstep via FedEx and is now fed with hundreds of gigabytes of updates and game downloads as I prepare to actually play the thing sometime on Friday.

As for the Xbox Series S I’ve watched, I guess I’ll wait until next year when Halo: Infinite starts. I just can’t bother jumping through the hoops necessary to get one beforehand.

Taylor Lyles: I got an Xbox Series X and PS5 at launch, but how I got my PS5 was pretty fun. I have a team meeting every Thursday at 12:30 PM ET, but my instincts told me the package would come during that meeting. At the beginning of the meeting, my doorbell camera feed was playing on my phone because I feared someone would come out on my porch and steal my unattended package. Mama Tay was Not I’m going to have a porch pirate steal her newborn baby.

As soon as I reported what projects I was working on, I immediately saw the UPS man outside my house and sent a message on Zoom that said, “My PS5 is here. I will brb. “I dragged my ass in a mask down the steps and freaked out the UPS man for not expecting anyone to be waiting outside on the porch on a cold rainy day.

I ran back upstairs, unpacked the PS5, and decided to put my new console on my lap to let everyone know I have the PS5 in my possession. A couple of coworkers took a screenshot of my excitement, and I had to post a tweet because I did

When you legit leave a meeting for a few seconds just to get your PS5 from UPS man. Then decide to let everyone in the meeting know it did, in fact, arrive and no porch pirates took your PS5. pic.twitter.com/lltX2gBt1p

— Taylor Lyles (@TayNixster) November 12, 2020

Cameron Faulkner: (My boss looks at me.) My main focus with the arrival of next generation consoles has been to give readers as many options as they can get. This is difficult during a pandemic for many reasons: money is tight, everyone is home and online at the same time, and the companies responsible for making the consoles and distributing those consoles to retailers are like everyone else from the pandemic affected.

(Okay, I think my boss stopped looking at me.) When the PS5 was released and some of my coworkers were telling stories about getting their own, the expectation built in to get one for me. I don’t need it at all I have a good PC that has cost me more than enough to build. And it’s not that the PS5 is bursting at the seams with exclusive games – at least not.

Even so, I limited myself to setting up reminders for myself to keep things going. Don’t worry, we’re still doing our best to make sure you come first, but I hope old Cammy can get a PS5 out soon.

Jay Peters: Earlier this week I thought I’d be ready to have two next-gen consoles by the weekend. I pre-ordered an Xbox Series S from Newegg and a PS5 Digital Edition from Target weeks ago. But here we are on Friday, and neither will I, due to both my own impulses and reasons beyond my control.

I don’t have this Xbox Series S because my head was twisted by great reviews for the Xbox Series X and I was trying to find a pre-order for one of these. I stayed up late Monday night to try and reserve one for in-store pickup at Target. Fortunately, I happened to see Microsoft’s online store opening orders for the Xbox Series X. After minutes of frantic updates, I got my way and was actually able to check out a console – albeit with an estimated shipping date in late December. Despite this possible wait, I clicked the buy button, saved my order, took a sigh of relief and canceled my pre-order for the S series. I definitely don’t have to wait until December, right?

Well, the order status for my Xbox Series X remains “pending” with no indication of when it will actually be shipped. And Target’s in-store reservation system went bust – the website said I had reserved one but never received a confirmation email. The next day I called my nearby destination to ask if it had the order and the person I spoke to said there was a problem with the online reservations and tried the next Day again. (Fortunately my credit card was not charged.)

I don’t have my PS5 either, despite pre-ordering it in September. I didn’t get any specific tracking information about it until yesterday – that was the day the PS5 officially launched. Fortunately, it should arrive on Sunday. But the retailers’ lack of transparency and their overloaded checkout processes made for a much more frustrating week than I expected.

Chaim Gartenberg: I had been planning this entire console season to skip both next-gen consoles during the first rush as there aren’t a lot of exclusive games and I wasn’t ready to stay up until 3 a.m. to try my hand, Best Buy refreshing in hopes to grab a console for the first day.

However, I’m also a big tech nerd (see: this whole job), and I’m extremely predictably caught up in the excitement and hype, so I spent the entire launch day buying (and failing) a PS5. I’ve never owned a PS4 before so I’m setting this up as a way to catch up on a bunch of older games I’ve never played (check out you, Person 5).

Unfortunately, buying a PS5 is virtually impossible these days, which means I’ve resigned myself to going back to my original plan: wait until there are more stocks (and more games) to play before buying one. After checking the Sony website one more time in case the final batch of consoles is available.

It’s good. Really. I’m not at all jealous of the shiny new devices.

Megan Farokhmanesh: All week I watched my brilliant, friendly and hardworking colleagues fight bitterly with digital carts for $ 500 disco stones that barely fit into their TV stands. Like the rising tide, hope grew forever with each new fall window. And every time my colleagues were thwarted by invisible forces – buyers with the trigger, a broken internet connection, Jeff Bezos. Your mistakes, I’m not at all ashamed to say, have become my entertainment.

Look, I want one or both of the big fancy boxes too, but I’m just not ready to throw that much money on something that barely contains exclusive games. I know it would only be to taste fleeting happiness in the face of uninterrupted fear and uncertainty about what the future might bring. And I think my colleagues know that too because I asked them.

Anyway, I save all of my dead eyes for choosing the real champion, Black Friday. I can’t wait to pick up my new console in about three months with no problems.

Adi Robertson: I’m surprised everyone is in so much trouble. I thought I would get a PlayStation to check out Demon soulsSo I ordered one from Amazon this week and delivery is scheduled for tomorrow. Pretty cheap too!