Amazon's PS5 restock is exclusive to Prime members: bad for bots, great for... Amazon?

By Brendan Griffiths
published

Would you buy Prime membership to have a fair chance at a PS5 restock?

ps5 restock
(Image credit: Future)

Finding a PS5 restock at Amazon since launch last year has been particularly difficult. Yes, the PS5 has been the most in-demand piece of tech on the planet, but even so, Amazon - of all stores - simply hasn't had them that often compared to the competition. And we should know, we've been keeping an eye out every day on our PS5 restock update guide.

When Amazon does get PS5 units in, they're usually all gone in a few minutes and today was no different over at Amazon UK this morning in that respect. But what was different was a bullet point in the product description before the restock even came online (Amazon never gives an advanced warning), saying: "Amazon Prime customers will have priority access to the PlayStation 5 until July 14th, 2021."

ps5 restock at amazon exclusive for prime members

(Image credit: Amazon)

PS5 set to become a Prime exclusive at Amazon?

While this development in the PS5 stock saga was only in the UK, we wouldn't be surprised to see Amazon roll it out in the US too. Keep your eye on Amazon and the other stores below as you might get lucky with a sudden PS5 resupply.

Of course, the Prime members-only PS5 stock has all sold out now, never mind the bit about the 14th, but this is the first time Amazon has blocked off PS5 stock for non-Prime members. It's kind of surprising it hasn't tried this before really.

So why do it now? It seems like a great tactic to try and get around scalper bots as you won't find them rocking a Prime membership (although they do love a bit of Mr. Robot on Prime Video).

A more cynical response could be that the company is looking for a way to boost its Prime member signups in what will undoubtedly be a quieter summer than last year now that many folks have shifted to spending money on holidays, bars, and restaurants.

More to the point, since the PS5 was released last year, it wouldn't be unfair to say that Amazon has been one of the stores with the least amount of PS5 or Xbox Series X stock. Other outlets like Walmart, Best Buy, and Target in the US and Currys, Argos, and Game in the UK have all had far more frequent PS5 restocks, not to mention a host of smaller online outlets too. Amazon has been a continuous disappointment by comparison, with a complete no-show even in the Prime Day PS5 deals section of the big sales event last month.

We're all for the store getting its act together though. And given how sick gamers are of getting sniped by bots at the 'add to basket' button at all retailers, we think this could actually be a good thing overall, especially if you're already a Prime member. If you're not, you can sign up for a 30-day free trial below. Although you might end up waiting a bit longer than that and still have to pay for a month or two, so opt for the monthly payments after the trial rather than a year-long version (unless you end up liking the service, of course).

If you didn't already know, Prime membership gets you free super fast delivery on loads of items, free Kindle books, and best of all, access to the Prime Video library, which is one of the best streaming services around - you should check out hot exclusives like The Boys, Hanna, and The Marvelous Mrs. Maizel. Actually, we have a few guides that will come in handy if you're looking to bulk up your watchlist straight away like the best shows on Prime Video and the best movies on Prime Video.

We're expecting stock of the PS5 to be hard to find until next year in all honesty, so this might be worth a shot, especially given there are already some absolute bangers on our best PS5 games list and the upcoming PS5 games look pretty tasty too.

Heck, given the global shortage of semiconductors that's causing havoc in the manufacturing of consoles, graphics cards, electric cars, and more we expect Nintendo Switch OLED pre-orders to have similar issues when it launches in October. Maybe our Ben is right and we should all opt for something on the best board games list instead after all.

If you are able to pick up a PS5, or you just want to get be ready for when you do, we have a few other guides to ensure you have the best experience. The best TV  for PS5 and the best 120Hz 4K TV are packed with great TVs across a range of budgets. And rather than fork out for a fancy sound system, you can save a small fortune and have an immersive experience with our best PS5 headset picks. And if you're looking to boost the storage capacity then our best PS5 external hard drives and PS5 SSD guides can help.

Brendan Griffiths
Brendan Griffiths

Brendan is GamesRadar's former Managing Editor of the Hardware & eCommerce team. He also spent time as the Deals Editor at our sister site, TechRadar. He's obsessed with finding the best tech, games, gadgets, and hardware at the lowest price. He also spends way too much of his free time trying to decide what new things to watch on Netflix, then just rewatches It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia instead. Nowadays you'll find him as the eCommerce Content Director for Future's mobile tech sites, Android Central, iMore, and Windows Central.