PS5 restock cancelled in Japan after chaos and violence

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PS5 restocks are getting intense in Japan

PS5 restocks Japan
(Image credit: @gttae63/Twitter)

There was PS5 pandemonium at a Japanese electronics retailer this past weekend, so much so a restock had to be cancelled and the authorities called. 

At the Yodobashi Camera store in the Akihabara district in Tokyo, people were fighting through crowds — social distancing be damned — in an attempt to procure a coveted PS5  console. Clearly finding where to buy the PS5 is a challenge across the globe. 

According to Push Square, the Akihabara branch of Yodobashi Camera doesn't require buyers to use its black credit card, designed to prevent scalpers from buying up hardware. But the store did give out tickets to those in line on a first-come-first-serve basis. Clearly, that didn't work. 

At the moment, the PS5 launch in Japan was the smallest for a PlayStation console, minus the PSP. And it's not for lack of demand.

It seems that Sony is prioritizing other markets ahead of its home one, causing much frustration for Japanese gamers. Given that the Japanese market is smaller than other territories, Sony has shifted its focus to the American market, per a report by Bloomberg. 

CEO of PlayStation, Jim Ryan, has fought back against these claims, saying the "commentary is inaccurate" and that "we have not been as excited about the engagement of the Japanese game development community as we are now for many years," when speaking to Edge Magazine.

The demand simply cannot be satiated due to manufacturing gaps caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. AMD CEO Lisa Su said there's going to be "tightness" for the foreseeable future as it cannot make enough chips. 

AMD's inability to manufacture parts could go down to other areas in the supply chain that have been hindered by the pandemic. The trade war between the U.S. and China has not made things any easier. 

In short, it looks like it'll be sometime before PS5 stock is at a level where retailers don't sell out in mere moments. Of course, you could always try and find where to buy an Xbox Series X instead. 

Imad Khan
Imad Khan

Imad is currently Senior Google and Internet Culture reporter for CNET, but until recently was News Editor at Tom's Guide. Hailing from Texas, Imad started his journalism career in 2013 and has amassed bylines with the New York Times, the Washington Post, ESPN, Wired and Men's Health Magazine, among others. Outside of work, you can find him sitting blankly in front of a Word document trying desperately to write the first pages of a new book.