The Gamesmen Clarifies Their PS5 In-Store Offering

The Gamesmen Clarifies Their PS5 In-Store Offering

This week we reported how The Gamesmen would have an extra allocation of PS5 consoles available for order. A staffer initially told Kotaku Australia that some consoles would be available for in-store purchase for Friday, but the company has since clarified the situation around that allocation.

When contacted on Tuesday afternoon, a staffer from The Gamesmen confirmed to Kotaku Australia over the phone that the store would be taking online-only preorders from Thursday, November 12 10:00am — a time the store reconfirmed over a phone call with Kotaku Australia this morning.

The staffer then told Kotaku Australia that they would have a small allocation of PS5 units for in-store purchases, and those who missed out were “welcome to try your luck at the store” on the Friday morning. That information was given in good faith, but The Gamesmen’s Daniel Cusumano clarified with Kotaku Australia the status of their in-store allocation on Wednesday morning.

Cusumano, who continues to run the family-owned independent games retailer, said over the phone that their in-store stock of PS5’s — a mere 20 consoles — had been allocated to Gamesmen customers who missed out on the first and second PS5 waves. Any customers who had missed out should preorder online from 10:00am tomorrow, Cusumano added, as they will not be able to purchase a console in-store on the Friday.

The Gamesmen provided the following statement over email:

PS5 launches tomorrow! Please remember, the PS5 console will be available to order online only tomorrow at 10:00am for delivery before December 15th 2020. No units will be available for in-store purchase tomorrow, please continue to check back online for further updates.

Cusumano told Kotaku Australia that he and the staff were especially concerned about managing staff and customer safety, and that they did not want to leave hundreds of customers disappointed.

“We are just as excited as customers are for the PS5 launch, and we are working with PlayStation to secure more units for 2021,” Cusumano said, adding that they were making as many consoles available as Sony would allocate to them.

It’s worth stressing that while The Gamesmen — and all local retailers — would like to supply more than 20 consoles, the reality is supply is super limited everywhere. The amount of overwhelming demand for the PS5 — and the Xbox Series X — coupled with the impact of COVID throughout the year has sent demand through the roof.

And that’s without even factoring in the impact of COVID and the necessary safety precautions. The Gamesmen has already assigned times for users who are picking up their consoles via click and collect, but that could become extraordinarily difficult to manage if hundreds of eager customers also try and line up in the hope of getting a console in-store.So if you are still hoping to grab a PS5, ordering online is the safest and best option. The Gamesmen will still be taking orders online from 10:00am AEST Thursday, November 12.

Other retailers will have more stock from tomorrow too. JB Hi-Fi told Kotaku Australia that they would give customers a week’s notice about when they would open up their next batch of preorders. (That said, preorders for the Xbox Series S did appear on the JB Hi-Fi website earlier today, although demand for the cheaper console is nowhere near that of the PS5 and Xbox Series X.)

We’d also like to reiterate that anyone picking up their console tomorrow, or trying their luck in-store, should follow all COVID safety guidance given. Remember to be kind to the retail staff — they’re not responsible for controlling how many consoles they have to sell. They’re just as likely to be missing out as you are. So wear a mask. Maintain social distancing. And please be understanding if you happen to miss out.


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