Sony’s PlayStation 5 is still one of the hottest hard-to-get items in gaming. | Photo by Vjeran Pavic / The Verge
If you’ve been tracking new console restocks along with us, you may have noticed that Amazon has taken a backseat for months to the likes of Walmart and Best Buy. While the online giant has had its share of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles from time to time, availability has been infrequent and riddled with issues, particularly when it comes to adding products to your cart; Amazon lacks a proper queue system like other retailers have set up, making it more susceptible to bots. But now, Amazon is hyping a restock of the PlayStation 5 Digital Edition on Twitter, one set for Wednesday, March 30th, at 11AM ET / 8AM PT. We haven’t seen this kind of buildup from Amazon for just the Digital Edition before, so hopefully it’s a sign that there are many to go around and stock will last a little longer than usual.
The PS5 Digital Edition runs $399.99 at Amazon, the usual retail price for the base console. It may be thought of as the lesser model of Sony’s PS5 offerings, but it saves $100 by eschewing the disc drive. That’s the only sacrifice it makes, as it plays all PS5 and PS4 titles digitally as well as whatever will come with Sony’s new subscription service. Now, with game sizes being as large as they are today, the 825GB SSD may feel a little limiting — especially when you consider only 667GB of it is available for use. However, if you have a penchant for playing big AAA titles and don’t want to shuffle games around, you can expand the storage by installing a compatible M.2 SSD (as long as it’s PCIe Gen4 and has a heatsink).
As for landing a PS5 at Amazon, you’ll want to sign in to your Amazon account ahead of time and be ready with all your shipping and billing info saved. Amazon indicates that this restock has priority access for Prime subscribers, which these days runs $14.99 per month or $139 annually. Once 11AM ET / 8AM PT rolls around, you want to add the console to your cart and check out as fast as you can. Amazon’s listing may show an Add to Cart button or it can be hidden behind a “See all buying options” button. You can also use this direct link to add it to your cart with a single click. This is where Amazon often fails would-be buyers, as you may get an error. The key is to stay persistent and keep trying.
Hopefully, this restock helps you land the PS5 you have been wanting. Feel free to let us know in the comments if luck and server bandwidth is on your side, and be sure to subscribe to our twice-a-week Verge Deals newsletter to receive curated tech and gaming deals straight to your inbox.
Some choice accessories and games to consider for your PS5
Getting a new console means you’ll probably want some essential accessories to go with it and, of course, digital games. Here are some we cannot recommend enough.