Scalpers have been a big problem for items like game consoles these past few years, and that includes the recently released PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary bundles, but Sony is fighting back against this sort of thing in Japan. The 30th Anniversary bundles for the PS5 Pro were undoubtedly going to be a hot item. Given their extremely limited availability and their high price tag.
At $999.99, it was never going to be easy to get one in the US. Even without scalpers, you’d be lucky to secure a purchase. Mostly due to the fact that there was likely to be a number of prospective buyers well over the number of units Sony had for sale to US consumers. Scalpers, of course, made it even harder to order one. Mere minutes after the console went up for sale, all stock was gone, and listings of the console showed up on eBay not long after for several thousand dollars. There’s even a listing that was up for as much as $50,000 (although I doubt it will sell).
Sony is having none of this in Japan, imposing a restriction on the purchase of the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary bundles that requires proof of PSN activity. The restriction requires the user to have engaged in PSN activities for at least 30 hours. It doesn’t matter if that’s playing games or using any of PSN’s other features.
PS5 Pro 30th anniversary bundles get PSN activity restriction to buy
While it would have been nice to see Sony implement this restriction from the start of the sale, it’s at least doing what it can to curb further issues. If you want to purchase one of these bundles in Japan, you’ll have to do two things. First, you need to have a PSN account that’s registered in Japan. Second, you need to have at least 30 hours of activity with your PSN account between February 2014 and September 19, 2024.
It’s likely not a foolproof system, but it’s more than Sony did for the sale of these consoles in the US and elsewhere. So there’s that, at least.
Similar issues arose with the PS4 20th Anniversary Bundle
It’s surprising that Sony didn’t account for this problem for two reasons. The PS4 20th Anniversary bundle had a similar PS1-style design with the same gray color scheme. However, without the cool extras like the DualSense Edge and the PS1-style connector cable housing. Moments after it went up for sale (also with very limited stock), all units were gone, and several were listed on eBay for 10 times the initial price. Thanks to scalpers.
More recently, the PS5 was hard to get a hold of at launch. Mainly because of supply issues. Scalpers took advantage of this too. Selling some units for several thousand dollars within the first few weeks of the console’s release. With these two instances over the past decade, you’d think Sony would have planned for this scenario with the PS5 Pro 30th Anniversary bundle. Alas, it was apparently not meant to be. Thankfully Sony is trying to right the ship. Here’s to hoping that a better system is in place the next time around. Additionally, at least you can still get the regular PS5 Pro.