There’s a gaming revolution going on right now, but many people feel like they haven’t been invited to it. Microsoft released its brand-new Xbox Series X console last November. Sony followed up by releasing the PlayStation 5 a few weeks later. If you’d managed to secure a pre-order for either console, you’re probably very happy with your new acquisition. If, on the other hand, you weren’t so lucky when it came to pre-orders, you’re probably still struggling to get your hands on a next-gen console. Try not to be too disheartened if this sounds familiar – you’re one of the millions of people who are in the same boat.

While the Xbox issues are a different story for a different day, the problems with Sony’s PlayStation supply are apparently all down to components. The shortage of components is, in turn, all down to the global pandemic. Companies simply cannot build and ship pieces of machinery as quickly or as easily as they’d be able to under normal conditions. The shortage is likely to continue until things go back to normal. We wish things weren’t this way, but they are, and there’s nothing we can do about it.

It needn’t all be doom and gloom, though. Even in the face of the shortage, there are still hundreds of success stories every day from people who’ve managed to get their hands on a PS5, and you could be next. If you live in the United States of America and you’re wondering which direction to look in to find yourself a brand-new, shiny PlayStation 5 console, here’s where to look.

For The Console Only

We’ll explain what we mean about this in a moment, but if all you want is the PlayStation 5 console – i.e., all you’re interested in is the machine, and you’re happy to take it without an additional controller, any games, a camera, a VR headset or anything else, your best bets are Walmart, GameStop, Target, and Best Buy. These retailers are currently stocking “vanilla” PlayStations that come with no frills and no extras. You might think this is stupid advice if you’ve been in any of those stores recently and found nothing on their shelves but forget about the stores for now. Focus on the websites.

PlayStation 5 supplies are so scarce that they rarely make it to physical stores even when stock is available. There’s no reason for retailers to sell them in their stores because they know they can sell them online immediately. Best Buy and Target currently receive several re-stocks each week. Walmart and GameStop appear to get a small supply each day. You might even be able to book yourself one at your local GameStop if you’re willing to queue for a while on their website. For everyone else, it’s a case of first come, first served, so you need to be on the site at the exact moment the stock arrives. That can be extremely frustrating if you keep missing out, but we believe the best time to check is in the early hours of the morning. If you’re a night owl and you’re awake at or after 2 am, you’re likely to stand the best chance.

If there’s no stock showing, hit the refresh button. If there’s still no stock showing after you hit the refresh button, hit it again. As annoying as this might be, try to imagine you’re at an online slots website. Think about the way the games on those websites are played. Would you spend your money and then give up and walk away if nothing happened the first time you span the reels? Of course you wouldn’t, because that’s now how online slots work! Any veteran player will tell you that if you want to land yourself a big win when you’re playing online slots, you have to be prepared to hit the ‘spin’ button again and again until it happens. The ‘refresh’ button is your ‘spin’ button. Keep the faith and keep hitting refresh, and good things will eventually happen.

For A PlayStation Bundle

We promised to explain this and so we will as best we can. For some reason, Sony appears to have set a number of consoles aside to be sold as bundles rather than on their own. However much you might want to buy the machine on its own, there are certain packages that can’t be split up and aren’t counted toward general PlayStation stock. They either come as part of a bundle, or you can’t buy them at all. This obviously makes them more expensive, and so we’d understand if you had to pass at them, but if you really, really want a PS5 and there’s no other way to get one, this is an option for you.

While some of the regular retailers sell bundles as well as single options, your best place to go bundle shopping if everyone else is out of stock is Newegg or Antonline. Make sure that you’re specifically looking at listings for bundles rather than consoles, and you should find that there’s some stock waiting for you. Bundles vary from package to package, so double-check the particulars of what you’re paying for before you agree to part with your cash. A second controller is a useful thing to be bundled with your console, but you might not feel the same way about the PS5 HD camera, which isn’t really of much use to anyone other than professional streamers at the moment. Perhaps Sony has a bigger use for it in mind further down the line.

In addition to all of the above, there’s also Amazon to consider. Stock comes into Amazon and goes out every day. Competition there is fiercer than it is anywhere else on the internet, but they can be found so long as you’re smart about when you log on. Don’t forget that there are other versions of Amazon than the American one – so long as you’re prepared to pay for shipping and an adapter, you could have a PS5 sent to you from anywhere in the world. A lot of people in the UK have PlayStations from the German or Italian Amazon websites, and they work just fine.

If this article was a little bit “too long, didn’t read” for you, here it is in a nutshell. Stock is out there on the internet, so go online in the dead of night and get some. Thanks for reading!