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Tokyo Police were called to an electronic retailer after a PlayStation 5 console restock caused chaos.
The Akihabara branch Yodobashi Camera – one of the biggest electronic retail chains in japan – was intending to sell the consoles via a first-come, first-serve system.
As detailed in a report on PSU, most retailers in Japan are using a lottery system at the moment in order to try and deter scalpers from profiting off sales of PlayStation 5 consoles. A few retailers such as Amazon Japan, Rakuten and 7-Eleven are performing first-come, first-serve sales, but only online.
Yodobashi Camera are letting customers buy the console in person, but most stores require customers to have an in-store credit card to purchase a PS5. The Akihabara location bucks this trend, which has made it a popular spot for bother gamers and scalpers.
Game Developer Dave Gibson on Twitter, who works for Creature Inc. on the Pokemon franchise, was at the sale and has captured footage of the crowds shoving and pushing.
They cancelled the sale due to people being insane!! Pushed so hard even the cash registers and staff went backwards. I've never seen that kind of insanity in japan before…
— Dave Gibson ⠿ POKEMON
(@AJapaneseDream) January 30, 2021
“They cancelled the sale due to people being insane!!” said Dave, who went on to say that he had “never seen that kind of insanity in japan before…”
As a result of the rush, the police were called in an attempt to bring order to the situation. Eventually the sale of PlayStation 5 was cancelled entirely. Tokyo is currently in a state of emergency due to the coronavirus pandemic, and as such gatherings of this size prevent a risk to the public.
UK retailer GAME have promised that they will try and put measures in place to prevent scalpers in the future, after stock issues in the UK, and attempts by scalpers attempting to claim consoles for re-sale.
Argos was targeted by scalpers last week. The group claims to have been able to access unlisted URLs on the Argos website, allowing them to checkout before the items officially went on sale.
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