It was a chilly fall night. I was trying to get my daughter fed and ready for bed. I was drafting a fantasy team for my nephew on the phone. Mentally, I was buzzing with excitement about the price and release date for the PlayStation 5 – information I had literally been waiting on for months. The night took a dramatic turn when I got a slack notification on my phone, “PlayStation 5 orders are now up.”
Those six words sent me into a tizzy. I didn’t want to start trying to preorder on my phone because I took the draft as a sacred duty to my nephew. I wasn’t going to risk missing a pick as I scoured the internet for a site to take my money. My daughter had probably eaten enough, so I plopped her on the sofa with the iPad for some unexpected TV time. I tore downstairs and fired up the gaming PC, knowing the SSD would have it loaded in moments.
I tried Newegg. No dice. They sold out before I could complete the transaction. GameStop’s website was down. Best Buy would just load endlessly without putting the preorder in my cart. Target and Walmart were sold out.
I started to get desperate. I tried Kohls. The website laughed at me. I tried GameStop again, and the site was working. I got another console in my cart. Again, no dice. I tried a bundle – sold out. I tried a bigger bundle – an $800 bundle – and it was decision time. My wife signed off on the purchase. I got all the way through the process, including entering my credit card, before GameStop said “Just kidding bro, no PS5 for you!”
I was physically sweating. I could hear my daughter was bored with the TV and none too pleased that I was on a different level of the house from her. I brought her down to the Nerd Den but I knew the search was hopeless. I resigned myself to a bleak dystopian future where I had no PS5 at launch. Knowing that there were going to be hardware shortages through the end of the year, I would have to play Cyberpunk and Assassins Creed Valhalla on an inferior console. Given how this launch had gone, I didn’t expect Microsoft’s to go much better.
My friend Brian had similar trials on launch night and we talked briefly about it. He said if he could get his hands on an extra PlayStation, he would grab it for me. I thanked him, knowing that was going to be impossible.
A couple hours later, as I laid in bed playing Breath of the Wild and reflecting on what a horribly coordinated launch effort that was, my phone went off. I flew to it hoping for good news from Brian. Nope, just my brother thanking me for helping out his son with the draft. I put my phone down, bitter at the world.
Moments later it went off again. I ignored it. Then it started ringing. Those close to me know I loathe answering the phone, but it is uncommon for someone to call me after 10 p.m. I checked and it was Brian. Amazon pre-orders were live and he wanted to make sure I got the link he had just texted. I jumped in, and was able to secure a console without paying $800 for a bundle that included Destruction All-Stars.
I am very thankful Brian called. The online retailer sold out in moments. It was a wild night and I was relieved to know I would be getting a new PlayStation at or near launch. Having just learned the price point that day, it made me think about how much I was willing to invest in this console generation at launch.
The next day Microsoft took the opportunity to dunk on their console rivals while promising a better pre-order experience. They announced a specific date and time that retailers would open orders for the Xbox Series X and S. Without a major console exclusive, I was on the fence about whether or not I also needed an Xbox. My friends had some fun with it, I had been talking up my desire to get a Series X in recent weeks. I was hoping the new consoles would both be $100 cheaper – that $200 difference made the total price tag of buying both consoles more palatable.
When the appointed day for Xbox pre-orders rolled around, I was happily crossing things off my to-do list at work when I got a text at 10:30 a.m., “did you get your Xbox preorder in?”
No, no I had not. I had completely forgotten about it. Links had been live for half an hour. I consulted with my (amazing and patient) wife about the necessity of getting both consoles at launch, and I was suddenly diving into every online retailer’s website to try to buy another $500 piece of hardware.
Microsoft’s website was down. I got one in my cart in Newegg, but they sold out before I could complete the transaction. Target and Walmart were sold out again. Best Buy and Amazon hadn’t opened yet. Eventually Microsoft’s site went back up and I got one in my cart, only to be foiled at checkout, again.
It wasn’t looking good, and I went back to work while casually refreshing the preorder megathread on Reddit and a twitter feed. I saw the Amazon listing open up. I got one in my cart, and my phone rang. My wife had been constantly refreshing the link on Amazon and had placed an order. We were moments away from having his and hers consoles when I let my cart go. In the span of a week, I had dropped $1,000 on two new consoles.
It is a shocking amount of money to spend on a hobby. Why did I get so crazy with the preorder process? In the week since placing our orders, I’ve done a lot of reflecting on past console generations:
16-Bit Era
My first console was a Sega Genesis. I was a late adapter. I was just a kid and my parents did not think video games were an appropriate form of entertainment. I had to save forever to get my first console. I shopped all around and found the best deal at Sam’s Club. I got the console with an extra controller, Sonic the Hedgehog and Evander Holyfield’s Real Deal Boxing. I put a lot of time in on my Genesis. Good times.
3D Era
After bugging my parents for years, they finally got me a Sony PlayStation in 1999. I was super stoked to play Final Fantasy VII. I fell in love with Final Fantasy Tactics and was introduced to NCAA Football and Madden franchise mode. This is the first console that I put a ton of hours into. I also bought a Nintendo 64 in 1999, and while I enjoyed Perfect Dark and Mario 64, I never truly fell in love with it. I blame the controller, which is easily the worst in the history of video games.
PS2/XBox
The PlayStation 2 was the first console that I schemed to get near launch. It came out in October, 2000. I was a broke high school graduate. Instead of going to college right away, I decided to enter the workforce and moved to Fergus Falls where my buddy had an apartment. I wanted the new console, and I figured if I worked at Target I could make friends with the people who work in electronics and get my hands on one. It worked.
I didn’t get my PS2 and Dynasty Warriors at launch, but it was pretty soon after. Even though I couldn’t really afford it, the Target Redcard gave me the opportunity to save 10 percent on the purchase in addition to my employee discount! And so began a long winding voyage of credit card debt that I would carry with me for over a decade. But at least I had my fancy new console and it even played DVDs!
PS3/360
In the spring of 2006, after many happy years as a Sony fanboy, I switched sides. I was wrapping up my final semester of college in Mankato. I knew I couldn’t afford a PlayStation 3 and I was ok with the move. If I recall correctly, I thought load times were a lot better on the Xbox, and so I picked up an Xbox 360 and The Elder Scrolls: Oblivion.
I had just a couple classes my final semester and there were limited opportunities for a communications professional in Mankato, so I got a second retail job at Target. Once again it got me a new console with another bit of credit card debt I would continue to carry for roughly a decade. I was less concerned this time, because I was sure I would get a job and be making $30k a year in the coming months, so I could spend freely now.
It turns out it would be more than five years until I cleared that income threshold and even longer before I did it on a full-time position where I didn’t get canned after 90 days. I digress, but technically I was right – at that point of my life it was much easier to clear debt.
I held off for a long time on getting a PS3. By the end of the generation I liked it better than my 360, but I had learned that there was room in my heart for two consoles, if my wallet could support it.
PS4/Xbox One
By the time the current-(nearly last!) gen consoles came out, I was finally a real, working, professional adult-type person. I had four years of full-time experience under my belt. I had quit my job working for a Double-A baseball team in Maryland and moved back to Minnesota. My first full-time position here had been a disaster, and I was working days as a contract employee for a hospital system and part-time for Gamestop.
After having a defective 360 at launch and some nightmarish customer service, I was all-in on Sony again. For once I didn’t feel a burning need to get a console right at launch. After the initial wave of pre-orders closed at our store we started a list of customers who would get the next consoles as they rolled in. I was making good money in the contract gig and I had finally cleared my long-standing credit card debt. I put my name on the list and more units became available before launch.
I worked the midnight launch at the store and walked out around 2 a.m. with my sleek new console. I had taken the next day off from work, and we had just ordered a 60-inch plasma TV that was scheduled to be delivered the same day. Unfortunately the screen broke in transit, but it was still a fun day diving into Killzone. I have put a ton of time into my PS4, and it’s easily my favorite console I have ever owned. I eventually grabbed an Xbox One when I found a holiday bundle I liked, but I didn’t spend a lot of time with it until I discovered Xbox Game Pass. This has been an awesome generation for consoles.
That brings us back to September, 2020. Life is different now. I just completed my sixth year at my current job. I am married to the woman of my dreams. We have an amazing daughter and we own our house. I drive a nice car and that’s paid off too. We don’t carry any credit card debt from month to month. We knew these consoles were coming out this year and we knew I would likely want both consoles.
We didn’t know what the final price points would be, but fortunately news outlets gave us an expectation that they could be $500 apiece. We set aside some money each month this year, and when both consoles hit the credit card in November I’ll deposit enough cash in the bank to cover the payment. It’s no target redcard, and it’s not exactly straight cash, homey, but I’m thrilled that I won’t be paying for these two consoles for the next decade or more.
Here’s hoping that this next generation of consoles gives us some awesome shared experiences and brings the gaming community a little bit closer. If you were lucky enough to snag a console at launch, send me your gamertag and maybe we can connect online.
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Thank you so much for reading my column this month. Until next time, stay inside kids!