The Xbox Series X, Series S, and Sony PS5 have been out for over a year now and at no point during that time has the average consumer been able to purchase one without overpaying or jumping through hoops.
And Microsoft, Sony, and all of the major retailers do not care at all.
Why? They are selling the consoles as fast as they can produce\get them and that’s all they care about: The bottom line.
Shocking? Not really.
What’s really shocking (or should be) is that this has been going on for over a year and not a single gaming news site has kept this story in the forefront of the public’s attention.
Why? Another easy answer; gaming journalism, the kind there used to be, just doesn’t exist.
All have been replaced by click bait crap sites.
Several gaming news sites have recently posted stories on the “surprising” console sales winner of Black Friday: the Xbox Series S. They all refer to the Xbox Series X as being “pretty hard to come by” (quote from Games Radar)
That seems to be true for actual users but why is it that scalpers seem to have no difficulty at all getting systems? Look at Ebay or any of the resale sites. You’ll find plenty of PS5 and Xbox Series X units, ready for immediate shipment. At scalper prices of course.
Of course, this isn’t just true of consoles. Tried to buy a video card lately? Same thing. You’re looking at paying an enormous premium to a scalper to get one.
The handwriting on the wall is very obvious: Unless this is addressed as the serious issue that it is, the problem is only going to get worse.
I’d really like to be wrong about this. Perhaps there is some news site that’s giving serious attention and coverage to this very real and ongoing issue. If so, I’d really like to see it.
