A 19-year-old was shot in an attempted robbery while trying to sell a PlayStation 5, the latest indication of how high demand remains for the game console
- In Texas, a 19-year-old man was shot on Sunday while attempting to sell a PlayStation 5 console.
- The suspected shooter was the person meeting him to buy the PlayStation 5.
A 19-year-old man was shot in Texas on Sunday while attempting to sell his PlayStation 5, according to a report from a Texas ABC affiliate.
The 19-year-old shooting victim agreed to meet the suspect after listing his PlayStation 5 console for sale online. When the two met, the suspect attempted to rob the man at gunpoint.
The suspect has not been identified, and deputies told ABC13 that they fled the scene without the highly sought after video game console.
It's the latest example of crime related to the PlayStation 5 since it launched in November 2020.
In the UK, criminals reportedly leapt onto moving delivery vehicles in order to steal the PlayStation 5. And in the US, sellers have been robbed at gunpoint.
In the year since the console launched, supply of the PlayStation 5 has never outpaced demand — it remains extremely difficult to purchase. Part of that is due to limited supplies and the ongoing production and logistics issues for consumer goods, including a chip shortage which has also affected other consoles like the Nintendo Switch, and part of that is due to a robust resale market that sprung up in response to demand.
The PlayStation 5 starts at $400 for the digital edition without a Blu-ray disc drive, but the more popular version costs $500 and has a disc reader. The latter version of the console is being sold for about $800 on popular resale sites like StockX.
Given the high resale value, it's no surprise that criminals have targeted resellers for robbery.
For its part, Sony hasn't said when PlayStation 5 consoles will be readily available to anyone interested in buying one, and representatives didn't respond to a request for comment.
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