Did You Manage to Pre-Order a Next-Gen Console?
COMMUNITY QUESTION | Between PS5, Xbox Series X and S, and Nvidia's 3080 and 3090 graphics cards, it's been a busy couple weeks for next-gen preorders.
This article first appeared on USgamer, a partner publication of VG247. Some content, such as this article, has been migrated to VG247 for posterity after USgamer's closure - but it has not been edited or further vetted by the VG247 team.
At last, we know the prices for next-gen consoles and Nvidia's new wave of graphics cards, and preorders have kicked off in a big way over the past couple weeks. Last week, the PlayStation 5 preorders hit storefronts unexpectedly earlier than allegedly planned. Meanwhile, Microsoft carefully coordinated its own preorders for the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S this week... only for that not to go well either.
Even in a pandemic where an estimated 13.6 million people are unemployed in the U.S. right now, gaming enthusiasts remain hungry for new gaming hardware. Even Nvidia's new 3080 and 3090 graphics cards have been selling out instantly.
As professionals in games press, most of us have had to budget to get at least one next-gen console for quite some time. So tell us in the comments: How did your next-gen preordering go? (If you preordered at all!) You can find some of our own experiences below.
Eric Van Allen, News Editor
Mine went surprisingly smooth? I was expecting to have to fight tooth and nail for a preorder, but when the first batch of PlayStation 5 consoles went up at Wal-Mart, it took me just a little while to get everything locked in.
That said, I did go for the version with a disc drive still in it for some silly reason, so that might have helped. I've heard, anecdotally, that others have had trouble getting a digital version. And I didn't hop on the Xbox preorder pile because I still have a shiny new PC. Overall, a pretty good time.
Mathew Olson, Reporter
My PS5 ordering experience was relatively pain-free but still kind of bleak, really. After getting off work (which closed out the day with PS5 event coverage and the preorder confusion, of course), I walked up to my local GameStop and found a line of masked patrons on the street. I was too late to secure a console there and wasn't sure I wanted to be indoors with a dozen strangers during the pandemic anyway, so I went on my way and figured I might just not get one at launch.
Then, later at night during a bout of insomnia, I saw a tweet from Wario64 about the consoles going up again at Best Buy. I quickly submitted an order, eventually got back to sleep, and then woke up thinking "Wait, did I really just spend $499 plus tax on a launch PS5?" My order appears to have gone through, so I guess I let my bleary-eyed half-conscious self decide what my birthday and holiday gift for 2020 are. Go me?
Nadia Oxford, Staff Writer
I did not even try. I'll get a PS5 and/or Xbox Series X sometime next year when the hype's cooled down a bit and availability is hopefully better. There's nothing about next gen that screams "Must Have!" just yet, so why rush? Talk to me again when we know more about Final Fantasy 16. Heck, I might wind up buying the fabled upgraded Switch before the PS5 and Xbox Series X. The supply chain moves in mysterious ways.
Caty McCarthy, Senior Editor
I preordered a PlayStation 5 last week. I watched Wario64's Twitter feed, and as Amazon's preorders went live, managed to land one. I went for the disc version—I like to buy most games physical and then resell them on Ebay when I'm done—but the digital version seems like a good deal too if you're more digital-only inclined. I was tempted by the Xbox Series X as well, but decided that I didn't need it. I don't need it! (And can't afford it!) I want to build a PC in the next year with a 3080, so I'll just save money for that.