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PlayStation 5 Scalpers Use Bots to Hunt Down Scarce Consoles

  • Limited console supply has triggered harmful reseller hoarding
  • Industrywide component shortages compounding low chip yields
A billboard advertising Sony's PlayStation 5 game console in Hong Kong in November.

A billboard advertising Sony's PlayStation 5 game console in Hong Kong in November.

Photographer: Paul Yeung/Bloomberg
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Sony Corp. has created one of the hottest gadgets of the year in the PlayStation 5, but its launch has been marred by scalpers who are buying up scarce supplies and threatening the long-term health of the company’s most important product.

Scalpers, who buy devices at retail and then resell at a higher price, have long been a challenge in the games business. But the problem is particularly acute this year because the coronavirus has squeezed production and pushed more console sales online -- where scalpers use sophisticated bots to buy up the PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Corp.’s Xbox.

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