Gaming

A somber look at the PlayStation 5 crisis

Can’t buy a PlayStation 5? You’re not alone

Published

November 27, 2020

Luigi Leonardo

In 30 minutes from the moment I’m typing this sentence, Walmart, one of the few American retailers selling the PlayStation 5 online, will restock its console shelves with an undetermined number of units. If the restocking goes exactly as it has in the past few weeks, the retailer’s website will crash within the first few minutes. When it goes back up again, everything will have disappeared from the shelves.

If you’re one of the millions of gamers looking to bag a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X for the holidays, such an experience is familiar to you. Both Sony and Microsoft have fumbled their respective launches, leaving most of the hopeful without a console.

After weeks of the same, attempting to buy the new consoles and leaving empty-handed has turned into a shared global experience. Many are wondering when (or if) they are getting the device. Unfortunately, things aren’t as simple as they once were.

Day zero: zero stock

On November 10, the Xbox Series X and S dropped online for the first time. Though Microsoft’s console didn’t share in the same hype as its Sony counterpart, the new Xbox sold out within minutes. Faced with an even larger demand for the PlayStation 5, everyone portended much of the same for Sony’s console. Unsurprisingly, it was.

Days later, on November 12, the PlayStation finally launched. As expected, in the brief moment that “Buy Now” buttons opened, every retailing site either crashed or stalled. Most stores held a one-time drop. Meanwhile, Walmart did drops throughout the day. And, expectedly, every drop, one-time or gradual, sold out.

Only a handful received consoles on launch day: lucky pre-order purchases, even luckier same-day buyers, or, more likely, bots.

Rise of the machines

Most of the outcry revolves around despised bots refreshing every site and buying every stock before real people can do so. The bot’s owners, all of them scalpers, resell their supply at dramatic premiums. Hours after the initial launch, eBay had auctions going up to US$ 2,000. At the time of this writing, most entries hover around US$ 1,700. (For reference, the PlayStation 5 retails for only US$ 499.)

Neither Sony nor any authorized retailer explicitly commented on the bot takeover. Some (eventually) installed captcha measures to hopefully weed out bots from humans. It did little to stave to onslaught. Scalpers (or worse, scalper networks) thrived under the online-only purchasing system.

Should we, then, blame bots for the year’s most botched launch?

Bots, logistics, or supply?

Currently in our sights, bots and scalpers are easy targets. The systematic supply grab owes a lot of its shortages on the automated schemes of bots. Some scalper networks have even defended their actions. Supposedly, creating a scalping ecosystem creates jobs for scalpers who may have lost their jobs from recent furloughs.

However, a launch is hardly only a matter of consumers. There’s supply and demand, too. Didn’t Sony and Microsoft foresee the demand months ago?

Drumming up intense hype throughout the past few months, both companies naturally predicted a surge. It still wasn’t enough.

Sony, through the PlayStation’s official Twitter account, confirmed “unprecedented” demand for the PlayStation 5 series. It was still a surprise. Echoing the same, Sony Interactive Entertainment President Jim Ryan told a Russian outlet that “absolutely everything is sold.” Unfortunately for gamers, current predictions still estimate shortages lasting until spring next year.

Sony and Microsoft are hard-pressed to make more devices as soon as possible. However, with current COVID-19 restrictions, manufacturing facilities can’t work at full capacity. And it’s not just on the manufacturing side.

Recently, a logistics source confirmed that a lot of resources are still devoted to shipping COVID-19 aid, including PPEs and masks. With a potential vaccine on the horizon, supply transportation will certainly feel the crunch, leaving little room for less essential products like gaming consoles.

So, who’s to blame?

More than bots, scalpers, manufacturers, or logistics companies, the ongoing PlayStation 5 crisis pulls the curtain from an inherently broken system from a pre-COVID-19 era. The current global economy was, and is, ill-prepared for a global emergency.

Companies, manufacturers, and logistics did not anticipate an overwhelming demand for emergency products. Even now, the world is still aching for aid: from simple masks to scarce ventilators. We’re seeing the flaws only now because the new consoles are home appliances. Other launches this year weren’t as in-demand as the PlayStation 5. For example, with everyone staying indoors, not a lot of people are exactly lining up for a new iPhone 12. (Sorry, Apple.)

Fitbit’s Ventilator

On the other hand, a lot of people truly are jobless from a crumbling economy. Albeit a lackluster excuse, scalper networks do have a point that some people are reduced to less-than-stellar ways of making money amid the pandemic. (Not to defend scalping, though. It’s still a shady business.)

Throughout this entire shortage, one thing is clear: The world, as we know it, cannot adequately save itself from a global emergency. The fault inevitably rests on both individuals and systems who persistently refuse to accept the realities of the pandemic: from anti-maskers who put more people at risk to companies who haven’t prepared for the surge to governments who can’t provide aid for its citizenry.

Should you still get a PlayStation 5?

If you’re still inclined, Sony promises more stock before the end of the year. Anyone can still try their luck for a fresh device from the factory. More realistically, you can wait a few months without the new console; by then, Sony should have ironed out a lot of kinks and bugs.

No one is judging you if you do. No one is judging you if you don’t. But if you’re worried about the fear of missing out, just remember that not a lot of people have the PlayStation 5 yet, as much as we all would want one.

Oh, and in case you were wondering, remember the new stock I mentioned 30 minutes ago? Sold out in less than ten seconds. Go figure.

SEE ALSO: Sony PlayStation 5 Unboxing

Gaming

Street Fighter 6’s first Filipina fighter arrives August 3

Yasmine arrives in August.

Published

July 17, 2026

GadgetMatch

Capcom is celebrating the arrival of Yasmine, the first-ever Filipina character in the Street Fighter series, with an official community event in the Philippines this August.

The Official Street Fighter 6 ‘Yasmine’ Community Event takes place on August 9, 2026 at Salud! by Primera Bar & Restaurant in Palanan, Makati. Doors open at 2:00 PM, with tournament matches, community activities, giveaways, and free play sessions scheduled throughout the day.

Meet Yasmine, Street Fighter 6’s first Filipina fighter

Yasmine joins Street Fighter 6 as the first playable character in the game’s Year 4 roster.

According to Capcom, she learned to fight alongside her older brother under the guidance of her grandfather. After her brother’s disappearance, she returns to combat using high-speed Eskrima techniques while wielding a Karambit knife.

She is joined in the Year 4 lineup by Arjun, Tifa from the Final Fantasy VII Remake series, and Bosch. Her release also coincides with balance updates for the entire Street Fighter 6 roster.

Yasmine becomes available on August 3, 2026 for players who own the Year 4 Character Pass or Year 4 Ultimate Pass.

Community tournament and exclusive merchandise

The Makati event will feature a double-elimination tournament, beginning with Best-of-3 matches before switching to Best-of-5 during the Top 8 Finals.

The schedule includes:

2:00 PM: Doors Open, Player Check-in, Controller Button Checks, and Free Play Warmups
3:00 PM – 3:15 PM: Welcome Speech & Official Street Fighter 6 Yasmine Gameplay Showcase
3:15 PM – 5:00 PM: Tournament Pools
5:00 PM – 6:30 PM: Top 8 Finals (Main Stage Broadcast) & Prize Presentation Ceremony for Champion, 2nd and 3rd Placements.
6:30 PM – 7:00 PM: Premium Community Giveaways, Group Photo Ops, and Closing Remarks
7:00 PM – 9:00 PM: Free Play and Community Networking

Attendees can also receive exclusive event merchandise while supplies last, including a Yasmine-themed T-shirt, lanyard, keychains, and themed food and refreshments.

Capcom says admission is subject to venue capacity and will be handled on a first-come, first-served basis.

Watch the event online

Fans who cannot attend in person can watch the tournament live through the Capcom Asia Official YouTube Channeland the Enduins Games Official YouTube Channel.

Capcom also teased additional announcements, including appearances from cosplay personalities, fighting game veterans, and content creators, which will be revealed closer to the event.

Street Fighter 6 Yasmine community event details

Date: August 9, 2026
Time: 2:00 PM – 9:00 PM
Venue: Salud! by Primera Bar & Restaurant, Palanan, Makati City
Tournament: Double-elimination (FT2, Top 8 FT3)
Livestream: Capcom Asia Official YouTube Channel and Enduins Games Official YouTube Channel

Gaming

Most of the world’s PlayStations will be officially useless by 2028

PlayStation’s disastrous no-disc policy is now a lot worse than you thought.

Published

July 16, 2026

Luigi Leonardo

Last week, we lamented the loss of the PlayStation disc. As we described, the loss isn’t just a major blow to nostalgia for aging gamers, but it also puts a huge question mark on game ownership. Well, there’s another wrinkle that the world is slowly realizing. By deleting physical discs, PlayStation has effectively blockaded their entire service from countries without an official online store.

If you haven’t heard, PlayStation is ceasing the production of physical discs for new games starting 2028. The console will become an all-digital platform. Now, we can blather on and on about how this sucks for ownership, but all gamers will still have access to games online at the very least. Right?

Wrong.

Not every country has an official PlayStation Store or the ability to create a PSN account. In fact, a staggering amount don’t; 121 countries (or 62 percent of the entire world) don’t have official access to the online storefront.

If you live in any of these countries, you’re likely familiar with some unofficial solutions: that is, setting your country elsewhere where the store exists. But, because it’s an unofficial solution, doing this is technically against PlayStation’s policies and can result in bans.

That being said, as noted by users on Reddit, this means that, on a very technical and legal level, these 121 countries will no longer be able to buy physical or digital games starting 2028. Because of a clarified policy, you can still play older games, but if you want to play the latest Call of Duty or NBA 2K, you are out of luck.

There’s no official list of affected countries, other than those collated by others manually. But if you’ve never been able to set your own country on the PlayStation Network, you’re a part of it.

Gaming

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced comes to life at Skypark Macau

Themed event lets fans experience the game in real life from July 17 to 26

Published

July 13, 2026

GadgetMatch

Assassin’s Creed fans are invited to celebrate the launch of Black Flag Resynced through a limited-time themed experience at the Skypark Macau Tower.

The experience will run from July 17 to 26, and will feature elements from the title brought into a real-world setting. There’s themed installations, photo opportunities, and exclusive event rewards.

Aside from that, there is a concept art gallery and replica props inspired by the action-adventure.

The experience opens to the public from 11:00 A.M. on Friday, and will remain available until the last Sunday of the month.

It will be more fulfilling to come on the first day, as there will be exclusive merchandise sold only on July 17.

Guests who purchase the game on-site, or present proof of purchase of the game at the event will be eligible to redeem an exclusive item, available only until supplies last.

Moreover, those who complete an eligible activity during the Assassin’s Creed event period at Skypark Macau will receive a paper scroll replica of the “Letter for Duncan Walpole”, while supplies last.

Assassin’s Creed Black Flag Resynced is a faithful remake of 2013’s Assassin’s Creed IV Black Flag. Rebuilt from the ground up and powered by the latest Anvil engine, the game features updated visuals, enriched gameplay, and new narrative content.

Set during the Golden Age of Piracy, the game invites players to sail the Caribbean as Edward Kenway. The rebellious pirate captain is drawn into the centuries-old conflict between Assassins and Templars.

As the protagonist pursues glory and fortune, he crosses paths with legendary figures such as Blackbeard, Anne Bonny, and Calico Jack. All this while the fate of everything the pirates have built hangs in the balance.

The game is available on PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and PC.