Today, I pick up my PS5. In my first attempt, I had some luck securing a Playstation 5 on BestBuy.com. Last week, I was informed that Best Buy may have some PS5s available online that Friday. I asked two Best Buy chat bots (or people, I’m pretty sure at least one of them was a human) and they both confirmed that there would be some in stock online.

Adding it to my Cart

From 9 AM on, I was on BestBuy.com. First, on my MacBook Pro. Then I had to move to my iPhone while at Fresh Market. And once back home, I had the Playstation 5 Best Buy page displayed on both my MacBook Pro and my gaming PC. I was waiting for that “Unavailable” to switch to an “Add to Cart.” It was already past noon, and the first chat person had told me the window to get a PS5 would be between 9 AM and noon.

I asked another chat bot, this one was not so nice. I asked if I had missed my opportunity, and they had all sold out. This bot told me there were no PS5s coming today, and there never were. He told me I had been misinformed by the other two bots. If that bot would have said, “Sorry, they were here and you missed them,” that may have discouraged me, but instead I just stayed with my browsers open, because two bots had already told me what I wanted to hear.

About an hour later, the button switched to “Add to cart,” I added it on both screens and watched them both think about their decision to add the PS5 to my cart. I opened a conversation with another chat bot to find out what was going on. This one informed me that every few minutes they release a small portion of the PS5s available, so the scalpers don’t get them all. I just had to wait to see if it magically appeared in my cart, and it did!

That’s not all…

Of course, that was just step one in this long process. The next step was finding a store for pickup. I changed my pickup location from store-to-store trying to make my purchase, but each nearby store said “Not available for pickup.” At one point I was checking if I could pick it up two hours away. The message even changed a few times to, “Sorry, not available in any stores within 250 miles from you.”

PS4 FLASHBACK: I remember finding a PS4 in the strangest way. I was driving from Tampa back to Miami from a work trip. I checked which small towns had a Best Buy on the way home. When we were kind of near Estero, FL I called that Best Buy and they told me they had a few PS4s and I’d better hurry. That night I arrived home from a work trip with a brand new PS4.

I ended up choosing a pickup location that was 30 miles away, which is much better than 150 miles away (which is how far away my PS4 Best Buy was). Getting a new console is always an exciting occasion, even picking up my PS4 Pro was a big deal (after already having a PS4). I can remember getting most of my consoles as a kid. I also remember having to wait an extra day or two for that RF adapter to plug in my Nintendo consoles.

Changing Consoles

There’s something different this time around though. I first started out as a Nintendo kid (NES, SNES, N64). From there I jumped ship to the opposite side with the Sega Dreamcast. Next, I went to the Playstation 2, then to the original Xbox (just for the Chronicles of Riddick: Escape from Butcher Bay). I stayed in the Xbox family and moved on to Xbox 360, before switching back to Sony for PS4 and back to my Nintendo roots with the Nintendo Switch. And now the PS5. (Perhaps one day I’ll also grab an Xbox Series X or S).

For most of my new consoles the games and manufacturers have been different. So, I started each new console life with just one or two games (usually launch titles). From Xbox to Xbox 360, I could have played some of my older games on the new console with backwards compatibility, but I don’t think I really did. Possibly some Halo 2.

Digital Frontier

Tomorrow, when I pick up my PS5, it will be the first time I move into a new console generation with a library of games at the ready. I even already own a few PS5 games already (thanks to FREE PS Plus monthly games and some FREE next-gen upgrades). With my PS4 I started my journey with FIFA ’14 and Infamous: Second Son. With the PS5 I don’t know if I will come home with Spider-Man: Miles Morales, or start off with what I’m currently playing on PS4.

There was a time where we all had to buy game cartridges, CDs or some physical version of our games. Now, that everything has gone digital (many games never even releasing a physical version) we build these massive digital collections, everywhere. I have a few hundred games on my PC and PS4. I may have close to 50 on my Switch. Sure, I own a lot of FREE and cheap games in my collections. It’s harder to move on to a new console if you can’t take all of your games with you. This is the first time I can actually do that, and it’s very exciting.

With my PS5 I will already have a pretty large library of games to choose from. I have games that are incomplete on my PS4 Pro that I hope to continue on the PS5, but I’m also ready for some new games. Games that will show off the true power of the next generation. I’m ready for haptic feedback on the DualSense controller. I’m ready for 3D audio (if I buy those headphones too). I’m ready for some true 4K gaming, faster load times and all the new features.

Originally, I was going to hold out a bit until Rachet and Clank: Rift Apart, Gran Turismo 7 or something big like the Horizon or God of War Sequels. Then I got excited. The other day, hearing about the possibility of grabbing a PS5 got me ready for it. I have a few friends who already have their PS5 and are loving every moment.

I think this has been my plan with most consoles. Hold out as long as you can, but once it drops and is impossible to find, that’s when I realize that I really want one. And now I will finally have one…