PS5 UK launch disaster — Currys just canceled all sales today

PS5 vs Xbox Series X: Which console wins?
(Image credit: Tom's Guide)

Today is November 19, which means that the PS5 is finally launching in the U.K. and Europe. But, as anyone who’s tried to get one of the consoles will attest, it’s not been a very smooth launch.

A lot of people couldn’t get pre-orders in before today, and now that stock is available, competition has been fierce. So fierce, in fact, that Currys has had to cancel its launch day plans entirely.

Initially Currys had promised PS5 stock would be available at 9 a.m., but thanks to a number of website issues (no doubt caused by high levels of traffic from hopeful gamers) that was delayed to 11 a.m. Then 11 o’clock rolled around, and no stock was to be found. Currys eventually announced that its PS5 launch day plans had been completely scrapped.

Currys isn’t the only retailer that’s been affected by high demand either. John Lewis, GAME, Amazon, and other big names have been having issues with their PS5 webpages, forcing customers to continually refresh their tabs in the hopes of getting a console for themselves. But once shoppers got in, all the stock had sold out — assuming they had actually been available to purchase in the first place.

It’s disappointing news, but the high demand for PS5 was always going to cause some frustration. Especially since there’s a very strong possibility that bots are out there buying up stock faster than human beings could hope to accomplish.

Thankfully this isn’t the last we’ve seen of the PS5. Stock will be back sooner or later, and as more people manage to get their consoles there isn’t going to be quite as much competition. Whether you’ll be able to get one before the end of the year is anyone’s guess, but it’ll happen eventually. 

Plus you can save yourself some trouble by checking out our guide on where to buy the PS5 in U.K.

Tom Pritchard
UK Phones Editor

Tom is the Tom's Guide's UK Phones Editor, tackling the latest smartphone news and vocally expressing his opinions about upcoming features or changes. It's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo UK, when pretty much everything was on the table. He’s usually found trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining about how terrible his Smart TV is.

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