Bedlam in Japan with new PS5 stock arrives at Tokyo retailer

There was absolute chaos at a Tokyo retailer overnight when new stocks of PlayStation 5s arrived with insufficient supply. Since its launch last November, Sony’s new console has been nearly impossible to find around the world, but Japan has been particularly short, with hardware sales lagging behind even the launch of the Nintendo Wii U.

Kotaku reports, however, that the Yodobashi Camera mega-store in Akihabara sold a bunch of new systems today, and all hell broke loose. We don’t even need to describe the scenes, because you can see them yourself, thanks to the video embedded below:

In the end, things got so bad that the police were called and sales of the system ceased. So, what happened? Obviously, as already noted, stocks are tight. But this was made worse by the fact that the Akihabara branch of Yodobashi Camera in question does not require the use of the retailer’s black credit card to purchase equipment, a regulation put in place to help thwart resellers.

In addition, the store distributed numbered tickets on a first come, first served basis to potential buyers. In the past, freebies were offered, where those who were called their number had the option to purchase a system. Obviously, all of these circumstances contributed to the scenes you see above.