Sony Announced Official Seals for PS5 Boxed Consoles to Counter Scalpers

Sony launched PlayStation 5 on November 12 in the US and in the UK and around the world on November 19, 2020. However, physically finding a PS5 console is still a more complicated task than discovering a machine online.

The major reason behind the issue was reportedly a considerable number of semiconductor shortages started due to the Covid-19 pandemic. The situation stopped Microsoft and Sony from manufacturing a massive number of consoles to sell and meet customers’ demands.

However, the situation became worse after sellers seized the stock. They were looking for an opportunity to move hopeless customers to sell a limited stock at higher prices. Most scalpers are still expecting a number of opportunities to resell PlayStation 5 machines in the current year.

New Incentive to Crackdown on Scalper’s Wallet

Scalpers are continuously offering PS5 consoles to earn a big money after selling limited stock, despite retailers finding other ways. However, Sony has now introduced a new incentive to crack down on the wallets of these scalpers.

An authentic news outlet in Japan has reported Sony is now working with retailers in the country. The major objective of the company is to sell boxed PS5 consoles with harder to eliminate official seals.

Another report has also confirmed that Sony will provide PS5 packaging to retailers with an official seal. The key idea behind the move indicates that the packaging will be considered sole once a retailer sells a PlayStation 5 console. The broken seal will point out that the console has been sold, while the seal can’t be changed or replaced.

The Official Seal for PS5 Packaging

Sony also said the seal is too hard to remove and the broken seal will show the machine was already sold out. This security feature will prevent scalpers from easily reselling PS5 consoles with broken or damaged seals. Higher prices are always considered top-level issues in most scenarios.

The company is hopeful that the official seal on PS5 packaging will alert plenty of customers to buy from unfaithful sources. Sony has now confirmed the initial information of its refreshed subscription service for PlayStation Plus.

Various reports also indicate the refreshed PlayStation Plus subscription is a combination of services with different features. The new development is based on how much users need to be involved in subscriptions each month.

Higher Classifications Offer Free Games

The higher classifications include free trials for first-party games much similar to EA Play. Users can access the library of PlayStation Now. They can also find other subscription services shifted into PlayStation Plus as part of the latest development. PlayStation Plus has 3 classifications including Extra, Essential, and Premium.

The Essential subscription is the user’s regular PS Plus with monthly free games, discounts, and online play. However, subscribers will also carry on enjoying the benefits of PS Plus without any change in pricing.

Extra option is essential for PlayStation Plus because the PlayStation Now is now back. This subscription will give you the traditional benefits for up to 400 PS4 and PS5 games. Most of the games are downloadable and a combination of first and third-party games.

The Premium also offers free trials, access to classic titles, and access to the PS Now library to play currently available games. This option has the most attractive classification and provides the entire benefits offered in the Essential and Extra subscriptions. It will also offer 340 additional games for the original PlayStation, PSP, and PlayStation 2. Cloud streaming on PS4 and PS5 is also available with these classic titles.