Black Friday: PS5 and Xbox Series X Creating Long Lines and Online Queues

Those who’ve been trying to get a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series X since the consoles and their PlayStation 5 Digital Edition and Xbox Series S counterparts launched know all too well by now the struggle involved in what’d normally be an easy process. Long lines, virtual queues for potential buyers to wait in, and site issues have become commonplace lately, but we’ve seen a new side of these problems this week now that it’s Black Friday. People are scrambling to get the consoles where possible with the shopping holiday officially underway, but many are experiencing more of the same.

The virtual queues on retailers’ sites have persisted into Black Friday which means people are again spending long waits in online lines to simply get a shot at even being on the site when the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are in stock. Actually getting the console is a whole other ordeal since many people have reported regardless of where they’re shopping that site problems like pages not loading, items being removed from carts, and other obstacles have prevented them from getting consoles. Anecdotally, those reports hold up, and they’re much more commonplace now that it’s Black Friday and more people are out there trying to find their consoles.

Black Friday also added a new element to the struggle: Physical sales. While most retailers have opted to only do online sales with no in-store transactions happening, GameStop announced recently that it’d have some PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X units in stock at retail locations. The supplies would be severely limited with only a handful of consoles in stock at any given location, but that didn’t stop people from camping out in hopes of getting one.

These sorts of campouts will be over by now since Black Friday is already well underway, but the lines and online queues will continue. If you’re one of the many who’s been trying to get a console this week and especially today, check out some of the best reactions to the hunt for the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X below to know you’re not alone.