At the end of August, the information that PlayStation 5 was to debut with a limited number of copies was heard very loudly. The news was extremely important as it was essentially coming from Sony itself. Well, it wasn’t written directly, but as we managed to tell you, it was reported that:
The number of PS5 consoles available for pre-order will be limited, so we will invite some of our current customers to be among the first to pre-order the PlayStation.
It’s hard to interpret it in a different way, and it should be mentioned that the entire action was related only to the residents of the United States. Only them they will be able to take advantage of the offer and “reserve” the equipment they wantto be sure of getting him. Quite an unusual situation and undoubtedly caused a lot of confusion among the fans.
Call from Duty: Missed Hopes
And while the players hoped that the announcement of the offer only in the USA assumes that similar ones will flow soon from Sony branches located in other parts of the world, the later message in the trailer for the new Call of Duty she has undermined all hopes. It shows that the new version will debut on PS5 earlier in the United States and Canada than for the rest of the world.
From the thread to the ball, it was quickly concluded that it could be related to previous reports and mean that Sony’s nexy-gen will actually make its debut on other dates, depending on where in the world. It will undoubtedly be quite an interesting option in the event of missing copies. First flush for America, second flip for Europe / Japan, and so on. It makes sense and is much better logistically than the limited number worldwide.
However, I should point out that these two pieces of information do not necessarily mean much of a difference. And while the date may be ultimately one week, I won’t be surprised if it only takes a few days, which most of us probably won’t even notice. The entire text is merely speculation, supported by some analysis and reports from recent days.
Will they limit the PS5 or not?
That is the question … It seems to me that the fact that we have to function in the pandemic era may have a greater impact than the news from the past weeks, and The coronavirus has a global impact on many industries – including the one related to video games and technology. Already around March, the first rumors appeared that the new-generation consoles may have problems for the premiere (there was even talk of postponing the debut to 2021).
Microsoft very quickly denied everything and reassured its fans, and Sony … Well, how is Sony – they do not confirm, they do not deny. Well, we hope that they will do their job in silence and deliver brilliant equipment. However, if the number of units is really limited (and let’s agree, the demand for PlayStation is greater than for the Xbox), then wave premieres for selected regions of the world seem to be the best solution. The mess and screams will be the least loud.
But that was already …
Well, is it really something new? Let me use Wikipedia because I admit that I do not remember the exact dates. However, this was what it looked like in the case of PlayStation 3 (over a decade ago):
- Japan: 11.11.2006
- ON: 17.11.2006
- PAL: 23.11.2007
Not bad, right? Yeah sure, that’s about thirteen years ago – in technology it’s almost prehistory. Let’s go back a little less, because to the debut of the next generation from Sony, this was the premiere of PlayStation 4:
- ON: 15.11.2013
- PAL: 29.11.2013
- Japan: 22.02.2014
These are slightly newer times, but still history. A lot has changed over the past 7 yearsand the concept of Mr. Herbert McLuhan’s “Global Village” is becoming more and more meaningful month by month. I do not need to remind you with what outrage was the launch of the Disney + platform only in selected places of the world, right? Few remember that it was the same with Netfliks – the complaints hardly sounded out.
… and will not be back again!
Exactly – it is not a problem of a demanding society. Times have just changed and we want to have “here and now” because we get used to it that this is how we get. For example, digital distribution (which I wrote about yesterday), which means that we receive the product at the same time as the United States, Japan, China or South Africa.
I think the slip straight from the times of PlayStation 3 will not pass today. I believe that forcing your fans to wait for the next generation for a few weeks, this could have a negative impact on sales. Not everyone is attached to specific consoles, and when someone wants to buy PlayStation 5 because he expects “next-gen features”, instead of waiting, will acquire them together with the Xbox Series X. Given the lack of strong starting headlines (at the time of writing), I don’t think the lion’s share of it just for the sake of belonging.
Time will play an important role
As I mentioned, the longer difference will not pass – people will just bet on Microsoft and probably will do it a bit to spite Sony. It is another matter if it turns out that the whole world will eventually get a console in a week or two. I believe in the last patience of people and I think we will be able to endure so much. Sure, it will always bounce back to some extent, but I don’t think Sony will be strongly affected by it.
For the sake of my profession, I would like to have my equipment as soon as possible, although I must admit that a few days may even be a positive thing. During this time, we will probably get to know the first independent opinions about consoles and read a bit about their advantages, disadvantages and the most important elements.
For me, the matter is clear
The key aspect will be how long we have to wait against the United States. History shows that the question should not be “will we get the consoles later”, but “how much later”. If everything turns out to be a matter of a few days, there will be no problem. However, if in the meantime (between the premiere of PS5 in the US and in Europe) the Xbox Series X also debuts and for weeks it will be the only option to play on the next genes, the repercussions for Sony may be considerable.
Privately, however, I do not believe that there will be intervals of several months again. These are not the times and the risk is too high – especially in the era of the offensive from the Xbox and their Game Pass. Personally, I am very curious to see how everything will be resolved and I must admit that every week I count on information that will eventually dispel all doubts. It’s September already, and we still know nothing. An unprecedented situation, but we had to operate in even more unprecedented times.
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