The PlayStation 30th Anniversary bundles look awesomely retro, so it was a shame when pre-orders for them all sold out within the blink of an eye following a confusing online queuing process. Fortunately, a surprise update to the PlayStation Direct store page indicates that Sony is getting additional stock in that fans can call dibs on starting October 29.
As spotted by Dealabs Magazine’s billbil-kun, a quiet edit to the store pages for the PS5 30th Anniversary Bundle and related accessories has them now showing a message that reads, “Please check back October 29th.” The assumption based on that new info is that Sony will be making additional inventory available for the $500 PS5 Slim, DualSense controller, and potentially other gear sporting the original PS1 designs, beginning at around 12:00 p.m. ET.
It’s not clear if this is additional stock that is being allotted to help meet demand or something Sony was always planning on doing in order to give fans multiple attempts to secure the retro-styled PS5 of their dreams. Of course, it also gives potential scalpers another shot at simply reselling all the stuff on eBay as well. That’s what happened last time when pre-orders for the hardware first sold out late last month. Even now, some resellers have the 30th Anniversary PS5 slims listed for hundreds over their standard asking price.
For all we know this second round of orders will sell out just as quickly as the first. There’s no real process in place—in the U.S. at least—to gate users before they try to get in line, unlike in Japan where it was revealed that fans had to have logged at least a few dozen hours of playtime on their console in the last decade in order to qualify for ordering any 30th Anniversary merch.
The PS1-style consoles and controllers, including the pretty slick-looking PS Portal, don’t officially launch until November 21. If you’re still trying to snag one through official channels before then, good luck!
Update 10/29/2024 1:39 p.m. ET: I got in line just before noon and tried to snag one but still didn’t manage to. This time everything sold out in about 15 minutes. Bummer!
Update 10/29/2024 10:46 a.m. ET: Added exact timing of re-stock alert.