Sony PlayStation 5 sells for three times its retail price in China as Covid-19 leads to shortages of new video game consoles
- The PlayStation 5 does not have a release date in China yet, but scalpers are already accepting pre-orders for for US$1,500 to US$2,000
- Consoles are not nearly as popular as PC or mobile gaming in China, but avid gamers are eagerly awaiting Sony’s next-generation device
Just two days ahead of the initial launch of the PlayStation 5, Sony Corp’s highly anticipated next-generation video game console, scalpers in China are already taking pre-orders with the price set at more than US$1,500 per unit, three times the retail price.
The PS5 officially goes on sale on November 12 in six markets, including North America and Japan, with launches elsewhere on November 19. But China did not make the cut for either release, owing to a tightly regulated gaming market that has long kept games and consoles out of the country or resulted in late releases.
This has led to the standard PS5, which retails for US$500 in the US, to start showing up on e-commerce site JD.com for three to four times its original price, with listings going as high as 12,888 yuan (US$1,950). The incredible mark-up is partially the result of the Covid-19 pandemic, which is expected to make it difficult for avid gamers to get new consoles this year.
“We expect demand for the new consoles to outstrip supply up until at least the end of March 2021,” said Piers Harding-Rolls, research director of games at Ampere Analysis.
The pandemic is expected to hit new consoles from Sony and Microsoft Corp, which released its new Xbox Series X and Series S on November 10, for multiple reasons this year. The companies have to grapple with disruptions to supply chains and shipping while demand for video games has risen during the stay-at-home economy triggered by lockdowns and quarantines.