For the first time, the Japanese can buy the PlayStation 5 without lotteries and pre-orders – the stores have long queues

The company Sony Interactive Entertainment has prepared a surprise for Japanese players and shipped a new batch of consoles PlayStation 5 in local shops for free sale on January 1. The GAME Watch Impress edition informs about it.

Previously, the Japanese could buy PlayStation 5 only by pre-order or by lotteries – the drawing of the right to purchase was arranged by large online retailers.

The new batch of systems began to be distributed in the usual way in retail stores, but no prior notification was made to avoid the high activity of dealers. The news of the New Year’s shipment spread quickly across the internet, resulting in long queues at points of sale. Sony partners only release one set-top box per hand.

The delivery volumes have not been specified, but it is expected that it will be sold out in the next few hours.

In addition to ordinary players, industry figures rushed to shops for consoles. For example, today Astral Chain development manager Takahisa Taura from PlatinumGames was able to buy the PlayStation 5. Before that, he had been trying unsuccessfully to get a new system for more than a month.

On December 29, we published in which it was reported that in the first month Sony sold 3.4 million PlayStation 5 consoles around the world, which is a record for the brand. It also said that from the beginning of 2021, Sony is going to increase shipments to Japan and other Asian countries, where the problem of meeting demand remains the most acute.