Chris Brown picks up a Play Station 5 console from store manager Jane Esposo at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Seth Douglas, left, 16, with his mother Marie Adams, wait in line to pick up a Play Station 5 console from GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Assistant manager Eric Crosby, right, processes the Play Station 5 console order for a customer at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Assistant manager Eric Crosby processes the Play Station 5 console order for a customer at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Store manager Jane Esposo, front, and assistant manager Eric Crosby, retrieve Play Station 5 consoles for costumers at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Seth Douglas, from left, 16, with his mother Marie Adams, pick up a Play Station 5 console from assistant store manager Eric Crosby at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Seth Douglas, 16, of Las Vegas, picks up his Play Station 5 at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Accessories for the new Play Station 5 are seen at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Accessories for the new Play Station 5 are seen at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Jane Esposo retrieves a Play Station 5 for a costumer at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
Jane Esposo gives a customer a Play Station 5 at GameStop, 9975 S Eastern Ave., in Las Vegas, Thursday, Nov. 12, 2020. (Erik Verduzco / Las Vegas Review-Journal) @Erik_Verduzco
A sign at Gamestop’s Rainbow Spring location alerts customers that the new Xbox consoles are sold out. (Al Mancini/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A customer named Holly picks up an Xbox Series X her husband had preordered at Gamestop’s Rainblow Plaza location. (Al Mancini/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
A sign at a local Best Buy alerts customers n Tuesday that next generation Xbox and PS5 consoles are reserved for customers that have pre-ordered them. (Al Mancini/Las Vegas Review-Journal)
Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S (Xbox.com)
Christmas is coming early this week for gamers with the release of the next generation Xbox and PlayStation consoles. Those who didn’t plan ahead, however, will have to get very, very lucky to score one.
The Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S were released on Tuesday. At most Las Vegas retailers, however, sales were limited to those who had pre-ordered them in September.
Visits to Target, Walmart and Best Buy locations on Tuesday confirmed reports that those chains had no units available for walk-up purchase.
GameStop held out a bit of hope on Monday for those who hadn’t planned ahead, announcing on social media that they would have “a very limited number of Xbox Series X and S console bundles” in stores the next morning.
Fans responded immediately.
“It was all sorts of chaos,” store leader Duncan McCartney said of the scene at GameStop’s Rainbow Plaza location on Tuesday morning.
“Our initial five extra systems that we had, people were camping out for those,” he said.
He attempted to direct customers to other stores that might have a few consoles left, but said “everyone was selling out just as fast.”
Thursday was another crazy day at GameStop and other video game outlets, as it was also the day Sony released its PlayStation 5 console to customers who pre-ordered them.
McCartney said the store had more reservations on PS5 consoles than XBox consoles, but zero available on shelves.
