All About Interwebz: PS5 restock meltdown at Sony Direct has console seekers livid at email invite fiasco

The PS5 restock at Sony Direct today can be described as having a meltdown, and if you follow our PS5 and Xbox restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider you'll get an alert when the PlayStation 5 is for sale – that's if you follow his Twitter account and turn on notifications. Of course, Matt sends instant alerts, which have helped 83,000 people secure a next-gen console; he doesn't control the Sony Direct restock or know how to prevent its many glitches.

Here's what happened:

People followed PS5 restock tracker Matt Swider to get in-stock alerts
Hundreds of Matt's followers received a Sony Direct email invite for a private virtual queue (Didn't get an email invite? Sign up for Matt's newsletter to learn how)
But almost all of these lucky hundreds got to the credit card fields that were locked down – they were unable to enter their numbers. Frustrating right?
A virtual queue restarted, this time for everyone, but it said consoles were out of stock immediately.
Refreshing, a new waiting room began, this time scheduled for two-plus hours, ending at 5:15pm EDT, when we usual see a public virtual queue. Good, right?
Matt sent a notice that 5:15pm EDT was the new PS5 restock time at Sony Direct.
NOPE! The queue speed up to a 3-minute wait and opened up. Good right?
NOPE again! "If you did not receive your invitation directly from PlayStation, you will not be able to purchase a console at this time," according to Sony.
Prediction: Sony will announce it has given up date, September 21.

How to buy a PS5 restock

► When? Follow our PS5 restock Twitter tracker Matt Swider and turn on notifications for instant restock news. It's the fastest way to get PS5 stock updates.

► Never buy from other Twitter users – ever. They're all scams. Only buy from the US stores Matt alerts you about. No one will sell a PS5 for just $550.

► How to get the email invite? Sign up for Matt's newsletter to find out how to open yourself up to Sony's email invite list. He details the steps weekly.

🚨🚨🚨 PS5 restock 📦AMAZON US📦⚠️For Prime Members only, which is a GREAT thing (cuts down on bots)♻️RT this + follow @mattswider👉PS5 Disc ($499) https://t.co/jiCiZynNDX pic.twitter.com/5A9QpP0hRASeptember 21, 2021

Sony Direct PS5 restock has become hard

Sony Direct hasn't been as reliable for PS5 restock events as it once was. During the first half of 2021, the official PlayStation Store was slinging PS5 consoles four times a week, and it became the go-to store to buy from.

Fast forward to September 2021 and we're lucky if we get a Sony Direct PS5 restock twice a month, and it often sells out before people make it through the virtual queue. GameStop has taken Sony's place as becoming the most reliable source for PS5 restocks, having new PS5 stock every seven to fifteen days.

The PS5 restock at Sony Direct today: sign of the times

This is a growing trend. There hasn't been a Best Buy PS5 restock in over a month, Walmart just canceled orders after hundreds of people waited a month to receive their shipment, and Amazon has been overrun by reseller bots until recently.

We had previously reported that between October and Christmas, things were going to get much harder. We said that earlier this year – we were off by one month. By the second week of September, it became nearly impossible to find a PS5 restock.

The glitches today at Sony Direct are just part of a long line of disappointments people can expect between now and the end of the year, especially as more parents join the fray to find a console in stock in time for Black Friday and Cyber Monday.