Sony’s Running A Member-Only PlayStation 5 Promo In China To Beat Scalpers

Sony has attached purchase requirements to a new batch of PlayStation 5 consoles in China in a bid to defeat scalpers.

By Saqib Mansoor

Sony Interactive Entertainment has attached purchase requirements to a new batch of PlayStation 5 consoles in China in a bid to defeat scalpers.

Taking to Twitter earlier today, Niko Partners’ senior analyst Daniel Ahmad revealed that Sony is currently running a new promotional campaign in China to sell PlayStation 5 consoles to Bilibili members, a Chinese YouTube-like video-sharing platform for anime, comics, and games.

However, only members with at least a level 3 Bilibili account will be eligible to purchase a brand new PlayStation 5 console. As Ahmad pointed out, an equivalent would be Sony selling consoles in North America but to only YouTube or Twitch users with a certain number of followers or subscribers.

Sony as well as Microsoft have been finding it difficult to meet the growing demand for the new, current-generation consoles. That challenge has partly been because of scalpers who are standing by to wipe out entire stocks within minutes to resell them at higher rates.

It is impossible to identify a scalper from a legitimate buyer. Retailers have though been coming up with new ideas to cut down scalping on their fronts. Walmart for example announced last week that it will be selling a new batch of PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series consoles to only its paid members.

While not entirely foolproof, Sony and Microsoft would be open to any purchase requirement which can allow only verified users to get hold of a new console.

About the Author
Saqib Mansoor

Saqib is a managing editor at segmentnext.com who has halted regime changes, curbed demonic invasions, and averted at least one cosmic omnicide from the confines of his gaming chair. When not whipping his writers into ...