Australia is currently dealing with an acute shortage of PS5 disc drives, meaning most gamers cannot play their physical game collections on the newly released PS5 Pro. Moreover, the device’s $1,199 does not come with a built-in disc drive; instead, one must buy an external disc drive separately for $159. Disc drives are nearly impossible to find, causing frustration among players.
Read Also: Google’s Gmail Decision—Why You Need A New Shielded Email Address
Preorders for the PS5 Pro and the limited 30th Anniversary Collection started in late September. While the Anniversary Collection has gone out of stock almost overnight, the standard PS5 Pro is still available. The external disc drives sold out almost overnight, and frustrated gamers began to cancel their console preorders. Social media, Reddit, and online gaming forums are overflowing with complaints from frustrated gamers about the shortage.
Read Also: Samsung ready to take on Meta Ray-Ban glasses with its own smart glasses — here’s when
Scalpers are selling the discs at astronomical prices on sites like eBay. Some sell for as much as 459.99 AUD – nearly three times the original price. The author tried contacting PlayStation Australia and EB Games for restock updates, but it proved fruitless. EB Games said all their initial stock was allocated to preorders, with no additional units.
Read Also: AI Saves Ad Agencies a Lot of Time. Should They Still Charge by the Hour?
There have been a few successful disc drive pickups for lucky buyers who visit stores or make repeated calls to retailers. However, availability remains highly unpredictable. Major retailers like JB Hi-Fi, Amazon, and Big W either have very low or no stock, both in stores and online. The lack of restocking with the approach of the holiday season and Black Friday has frustrated gamers more.
Read Also: Popular technique to make AI more efficient has drawbacks
Australian gamers are now advised to watch retailer websites and be swift when restocks appear. Hopefully, more disc drives will be out soon so players can enjoy their physical game collections on the PS5 Pro, including long-awaited titles like Metaphor: ReFantazio. Keep an eye out, and good luck with getting your disc drive!
