Gamers have been in quite the scramble trying to get their hands on the Xbox Series X|S and the Playstation 5! There have been reports of the wrong products being shipped, confusion about physical stock in stores, among other issues that are keeping these things out of players’ hands. While it may not become any easier, Black Friday is going to offer a host of chances to snag one of these in-demand consoles.

Retailers are preparing for Black Friday

I am one of the lucky few who found the Xbox Series X at Walmart. A trip for something unrelated led to my curiosity getting the best of me, and I was rewarded. However, that’s looking less likely to be the case for others as Black Friday nears. The reason for this is certain retailers are starting to hold onto the stock for Black Friday. Rather than placing them on the shelves for purchase, our favorite stores will bombard us on that weekend. 

Walmart – Making dreams happen

This seems to be the place to score both systems. It’s believed Walmart is going to have more systems available before the Black Friday sales. Even better, they’ve announced they will have PS5 and PS5 Digital Edition units available at 6 PM Pacific/9 PM Eastern on November 25, 2020. The same goes for the Xbox Series X|S. I’m not sure what your standard practice is, but have that refresh button ready to fire. This is one of the few places I recommend checking in-store also.

Best Buy

Don’t waste your time trekking into the store. Best Buy confirmed it’s not going to carry any units throughout the holiday season. Unless you’re keen to wait until 2021, players will have to wait until Black Friday. Even so, there is no guarantee how many they are going to have. 

Starting today, November 22nd, Best Buy is dropping a few more PS5 units. Be on the lookout! 

Gamestop

Remember I said some stores are likely holding stock? GameStop should have units in-store, but it seems they’re holding out for Black Friday. Each store is going to have a minimum of two consoles available at open on November 27th. While calling ahead of time may prove fruitful, I’m not holding my breath on the ease of getting one from them.

Good luck, Gamers!

These are a few sources to up your chances to get one of these systems. Unfortunately, gamers aren’t just going up against other gamers. The market is flooded with bots capable of snatching up systems the moment they go on sale. So, even with timeframes mapped out by Walmart, don’t expect an easy acquisition. Stay diligent, though, and I look forward to welcoming you all to next-gen!