If you’re in the market for an Xbox Series or a PlayStation 5, your best time to get one was at launch. Your second best time is right friggin’ now. That’s not only because the price of the brick has and will go up, but also because major retailers are warning that you might not be able to get one at all if you wait until right before the great GTA VI-apalooza hits this November.
A games buyer for a major retailer speaking anonymously to The Game Business said, “We’ve been informed that because of the ongoing issues around hardware component availability, we won’t be getting the units we want ahead of GTA. Demand will likely outstrip supply during the year-end period.”
GTA 6 is for current-gen consoles only (Switch 2, look away) so anyone still rocking with a PS4 / Xbox One will be left out. And while it’s difficult to imagine anyone who wanted a PS5 / Xbox Series console has waited this long to get one, remember: A lot of so called “normie” gamers tend to stick to one game on one console, period. There are absolutely people out there with dusty previous-gen consoles that haven’t been touched in ages, their owners waiting for the right game to finally upgrade. For many of them, GTA 6 is that game. And when those consumers show up in November, they’ll all be fighting to get their hands on an incredibly limited supply.
Not only that, they’ll be paying a ridiculous premium for them, too. In response to the ongoing chip shortage and exacerbated by the Trump Administration’s abortive tariff campaign, console makers have raised their prices across the board multiple times. Xbox raised the prices on its console last October and will do so again in August. PlayStation, too, raised prices last year and again this April. And there’s nothing to guarantee they won’t do so again before November, not only to make up for the increased costs that show no sign of slowing down but to take advantage of the increased demand.
The people will need those upgrades if they want to play GTA 6. Console manufacturers won’t sell as many units because more people will be priced out, but those who aren’t will be willing to pay whatever it takes. If you absolutely have to have a current gen-console, get one now, refurbished if you can.