Online hunting bots: The reason why people can’t buy PlayStation 5 online

After months of anticipation, Sony’s PlayStation 5 finally launched on November 12. But most gamers are barely able to buy this new console through any online retailer.

Because of the pandemic, Sony decided not to go with the traditional way of launching a product that was selling game consoles in retail stores. Instead, the only way to get a PS5 is to pre-order it a few months in advance through one of the retailers.

Another way is to order online at the websites of major retailers such as Walmart, Target and Best Buy. However, at 12 p.m. ET on November 12, the overcrowding of online stores like Walmart’s went down. Users are greeted with a message explaining that the store has been overloaded due to too many shoppers at once.

“Last week, when we released items for sale on Walmart.com, we noticed a large amount of traffic that caused some customers to experience slow access for a few minutes,” said a Walmart representative. then share. “We are catching up quickly and are currently stockpiling to release more inventory during the holiday season.”

PS5 sold out within minutes of opening.

The explanation sounded smooth and familiar. But here’s the question: “How is it that one of America’s largest retailers can’t handle the vast majority of digital customers?”

The answer is simpler than you might think. Some of these customers are not actual users at all. Instead, they are software designed to break the queue and quickly order high-demand items.

Apparently, these “bots” can buy items faster than any human manipulation. While users are engrossed in filling in their customer data or waiting to load the checkout page, the bots complete a cycle of buying PlayStation 5 consoles to quickly resell on e-commerce websites.

It is not difficult to find evidence. On social networks and resale sites rife with sellers saying they used bots to collect dozens of PlayStation 5 consoles on launch day.

A seller has registered to buy dozens of PS5s with the software.

“My bot was successful,” said one seller on Twitter. “Tell me who needs a PS5. If you aren’t sure I sell both the disc version and the digital version.”

The user offered for $ 500 PlayStation 5 models for $ 1,100 and $ 400 models for $ 900.

This is an “appropriate” price for the resale market. Sneaker sites also often resell newly launched products, for double the price or more.

And if you’re familiar with the world of sneaker resellers, you’re probably familiar with the concept of bots. Broadly speaking, a bot is a piece of software designed to replicate the actions of ordinary online customers, but at a significantly faster rate. Retailers like Walmart use their own software to discourage these bots. But the bots are always updated, constantly evolving and innovating. As a result, retailers must also constantly follow suit to keep up with the latest bot software.

The bot software is widely sold on the Internet.

And effective bots get so much attention that they’ve created their own microeconomics, with friends and access to the best bots. It is these bots that could have quickly made up a sizable share of the limited supply of PlayStation 5 consoles last week. Their existence leaves people who would otherwise be able to own a console now have to wait until they can buy one.

Sony is selling new game consoles directly to consumers, but supply continues to decline. The GameStop chain said it will have new consoles for sale in stores on Black Friday, November 27, but the number of guarantees is limited to only 2 machines per store. Walmart also promises to sell them but the PS5 will only be available through its online store. Best Buy said it won’t have any additional PlayStation 5 consoles for sale for the remainder of the holiday season.

Refer to BI