Tokyo store introduces strict measures to stop PS5 scalpers

Follows the police being called as consumers swarmed the shop.

A retailer in Japan's Tokyo has enacted strict measures to make sure that PlayStation 5 consoles are not snapped up by scalpers.

As reported by Famitsu - and spotted by VGC - Yodobashi Camera in the city's Akihabara district is refusing to sell PS5 consoles to resellers. The store is only allowing sales of PlayStation 5 machines to those using its credit card plan, in addition to randomising when consoles go on sale.

If staff reckon that someone is buying a PS5 with the intent of reselling it, they will refuse to sell them the console.

This follows Yodobashi Camera adopting a first-come-first-serve policy the previous Saturday, which apparently resulted in the police being called as hundreds of gamers stormed the store.

"They cancelled the sale due to people being insane," Creatures Inc's Dave Gibson wrote on Twitter.

"Pushed so hard even the cash registers and staff went backwards. I've never seen that kind of insanity in Japan before."

The PlayStation 5 is currently in high demand all around the world. The machine has sold 4.5 million units between its November launch and the end of December, according to Sony.

The hardware has been popular with scalpers. In the UK, one group - CrepChiefNotify - scored 3,500 PlayStation 5s using bots, while another organisation - using the Carnage bot - secured 2,000 consoles recently.

Retailer GAME says it has brought in measures to make sure that resellers weren't snapping up limited stock. Fellow UK store Argos' PS5 restock in January was mostly bought by scalpers, apparently. Scottish MPs recently suggested that it be illegal to resell items bought with bots.