The PlayStation 5 is finally coming to Malaysia next month on 11 December, and pre-orders for the next generation console just started yesterday. Of course, quite a number of folks didn’t manage to get into the pre-order list, which opens up the possibility for certain folks to take advantage of the situation.
If you’re one of many who didn’t manage to pre-order the PS5 (myself included), try to not purchase the console with marked up prices. After all, stocks will always be limited at launch, but eventually, the system will be widely available. Why benefit scalpers who want to make a quick buck?
Of course, there’s no telling exactly when more stocks of the PS5 will be available locally, but it is really only a matter of time. Impulse Gaming, one of the most renowned local game stores, urged those who didn’t manage to pre-order a unit to be patient. “This is not a limited time release, most retailers in Malaysia will have restocks for it,” the store wrote in a Facebook post.
Speaking of game stores, in the flurry of PS5 pre-orders yesterday, there is one retailer that drew ire from Malaysian gamers: Gamers Hideout. When the store took pre-orders for the console, Gamers Hideout made it compulsory to get the console with a number of additional items. These include one PS5 title, a “Mystery Game Pack” which include three PS4 titles of a specific genre, as well as a silicone case and “trigger kit” for the DualSense controller.
Image source: Twitter (@najmi)
Collectively, this drives up the price of the console – the standard PS5 with a Blu-ray disc drive – to a whopping RM3,098.60 instead of RM2,299. Not surprisingly, Gamers Hideout’s pre-order for the PS5 is still sold out despite these compulsory add-ons.
With this in mind, we strongly believe that no one should be paying more than what’s necessary for the PS5. Granted, the willing buyer, willing seller sentiment applies here, but it’s not exactly very ethical to take advantage of the situation (the limited availability of the PS5) for a quick profit.
While it would be nice to be one of the first in Malaysia to own the PlayStation 5, you’re not exactly missing out on too much by waiting it out a little bit longer for future restocks of the next generation console. We’ve laid out a number of reasons why it’s okay to not pre-order the PS5 right now in a previous article – give that a read if you’re disheartened about not being able to secure an order for the system!