Where To Buy Or Preorder A PS5 In Australia [Updated]

Seriously, where the f*** can you buy a PS5 in Australia? And when will more be available? We asked all the retailers so you don’t have to. 

PlayStation 5! It’s the flash new video game console every video game lover wants, and every retailer wants to sell to you, but can’t. Ever since the incredibly messy situation in mid-September, where the general public and retailers were blindsided by the sudden opportunity to preorder the console for launch day, it’s been incredibly tough to try and secure a console. 

There’s been some conflicting information about when a new shipment of consoles might be available for purchase, with some retailers saying they may have more to sell in December, and others claiming you’re out of luck until mid-2021. Far out.

Ahead of launch week, I cold-called dozens upon dozens of different stores across Australia to try and get an accurate gauge of where the country is at with PlayStation 5 preorders, and where your best chances to nab a console might lie. If you haven’t managed to secure a PS5 yet but desperately want one as soon as you can, well, read on.

Update 18/11: All the latest links and times have been added to their various retailer sections below. As of writing, there are no major retail outlets offering orders for the PS5 but many are offering email updates if you’re keen to track stock progress in Australia.

If you’re still keen for a PS5 and you’re a Vodafone customer, read on.

Harvey Norman / Domayne

Harvey Norman is officially sold out of PS5 stock, with the original console page now replaced by a generic console landing page. There’s no current ETA for stock to return in stores.

You can sign up for updates on the PS5 if you’re keen to grab it from Harvey Norman.

Amazon Australia

Amazon Australia appears to be completely sold out of the PS5. Like other stores, there’s no ETA for stock to return.

You can purchase a DualSense controller if you’re really keen, though.

The Gamesmen

The folks at Australia’s longest-running independent video game shop told me that they will be getting more stock this year, and they will be available sometime in December. Unfortunately, if you weren’t able to get in on the Thursday, November 12 presale you’re now out of luck — The Gamesmen is now also sold out of PS5 consoles.

Update 11/11: The original version of this story reported that a Gamesmen staffer told Kotaku Australia how some PS5’s would be available for purchase in-store from Friday, 10:00am. The Gamesmen have since clarified that the in-store stock has already been allocated to customers from the initial waves, and anyone wanting to order a PS5 should do so online and not travel to a store:

The staffer then told Kotaku Australia that they would have a small allocation of PS5 units for in-store purchases, and those who missed out were “welcome to try your luck at the store” on the Friday morning. That information was given in good faith, but The Gamesmen’s Daniel Cusumano clarified with Kotaku Australia the status of their in-store allocation on Wednesday morning.

Cusumano, who continues to run the family-owned independent games retailer, said over the phone that their in-store stock of PS5’s — a mere 20 consoles — had been allocated to Gamesmen customers who missed out on the first and second PS5 waves.

More info about that can be found here.

Sony Store

Sony’s online stock sold out, as you’d expect.

You can still get email notifications for when the next PS5 shipment will arrive via this link, but the next batch of consoles through the Sony Store won’t ship until 2021.

EB Games

From the independents to the global corporations, EB Games is likely one of the first places you’ll think of looking when you go on your PS5 hunt. Well, you’re not the only one. “We’re sold out for the next five shipments, so if you preorder now, the delivery is expected for April next year,” one sales associate told me. “We are very, very sold out.”

Another one didn’t even want to be that optimistic: “We won’t have any to sell until next year sometime. But we’re not taking any orders because we don’t know when they’re going to come, unfortunately.”

One friendly staffer gave me the full rundown of EB’s pre-order saga. “For the launch day shipment Sony gave us 15 minutes notice that they were going live … that shipment lasted about one and a half hours before it sold out.”

“After that, we had visibility from Sony on a delivery this year, maybe late November, maybe December. That one sold out within about 30 minutes.”

“Then we started doing $50 deposits for whatever we’re getting next year. After one day of that, Sony looked at how many orders we had, and went “Holy shit, please stop taking pre-orders, because we don’t have visibility on what we’re going to have volume-wise or timeline-wise, and we don’t want to keep adding people, we want to do this right.”

“So yeah, we’ve stopped taking pre-orders.”

One tidbit of information I got from a few long-time managers was that with the PS4, there was about a 6 month window between the launch of the console and being able to walk in off the street to grab one.

So the advice from EB is keep an eye on pre-orders opportunities in-store and online until at least the middle of next year once the 2020 rush has died down.

JB Hi-Fi

JB Hi-Fi is now out of stock as well; the original listings have since been removed, and the PS5 category page no longer lists either the full-size PS5 or the PS5 Digital Edition.

The site was repeatedly slammed even before their PS5 pre orders began, with the company posting on Twitter that their website — like many others — had experienced “some technical issues”.

Due to the PS5 pre-order launch and overwhelming traffic, the JB website is experiencing some technical issues. We thank you for your patience as we work to resolve these issues and we will provide an update as soon as the issues are resolved.

— JB Hi-Fi (@JBHiFi) November 12, 2020

The best thing to do from this point is to get onto the JB Hi-Fi newsletter list for any future updates. I’d also make sure you keep an eye on their official Twitter account and Facebook pages, since JB will also use those channels for major updates (like the one they posted yesterday letting everyone know what time pre orders would begin).

JB previously told Kotaku Australia that they would inform customers via their direct newsletter about future PS5 drops. “We’re not going to do it like an overnight thing. We will give customers like at least a week or so,” one manager stated.

Big W

Big W said they weren’t able to sell PS5 consoles on launch day “due to unforeseen circumstances”:

Target

Target has no idea, to be honest. The only solid information I could get was on their website, where it says that they’ll have more information on their next stock availability after November 12, 2020. Not sure on the precise timing, however, but you can keep an eye on their landing page here.

Kogan

There’s currently no stock at Kogan, and no PS5 landing page.

Cheers, Rus.

And there you have it, the state of buying a PlayStation 5 in Australia as of mid-November, 2020. Pretty dire, right?

Hopefully, someone will keep this article updated into 2021 as the situation changes. But maybe not. Godspeed!

Vodafone

Following in Telstra’s steps, Vodafone has announced they will start offering PS5 and PS5 Digital consoles through their Customer Care channel from November 12, 2020.

“To kick off the new partnership, Vodafone will offer a limited number of PS5 consoles for sale. Customers with two or more eligible services can purchase a new PS5 console on an interest free plan over 12, 24 or 36 months through Vodafone’s Customer Care channel from 12 November,” Vodafone said in a release.

If you have at least two eligible postpaid mobile, tablet, or NBN services with Vodafone, you’ll be able to order a PS5/PS5 Digital Edition by calling Vodafone on 1300 728 637. The telco says they will be able to pick up their consoles “by appointment from their local Vodafone store by 15 December”. 

Update 10:30 a.m. AEDT, 18/11: A Vodafone Australia spokesperson confirmed to Kotaku Australia that PS5 stock levels at Vodafone are holding steady, so you’ll be able to grab one by December 15 if you sign up for this offer.

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