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If you were hoping to wait until launch day to pop into a supermarket to pick up a PlayStation 5, you'll be out of luck as Sony have announced that there will be no consoles in stores for purchase on November 12 or November 19 due to the ongoing COVID 19 pandemic.
The announcement on the PlayStation blog also confirmed that anyone who has already pre-ordered their machine at a brick and mortar store will still be able to collect their orders, but there will be no midnight launches and no launch day events held at stores "in the interest of keeping our gamers, retailers, and staff safe amidst COVID-19."
It certainly makes sense and was largely inevitable—the ongoing pandemic already meant that specialist game stores in England have been forced to close for four weeks from today as part of a national lockdown, for example—but the message is if you want a PlayStation 5, you'll have to be safe, stay home and order your new console online ahead of time even if you want it from a store.
PlayStation 5 launches on November 12 in the US, Japan, Canada, Mexico, Australia, New Zealand, South Korea and on November 19 in the UK and the rest of the world.
Update: All PS5 console sales on launch day, 19th November, will be online-only. No units will be available in-store for purchase.
More info: https://t.co/4UdFp5zklE pic.twitter.com/8jhSuL0HJr
— PlayStation Europe (@PlayStationEU) November 5, 2020
