Walmart has been the retailer most on the front line when it comes round to battling scalpers trying to hijack its PS5 and Xbox Series X restocks, with the store blocking more than 20 million bot attempts to purchase within the first 30 minutes alone.
And for that T3 tips its hat to Walmart.
Now, though, the mega North American retailer has also announced exactly what they're doing to secure more PS5 and Xbox Series X stock, as well as when gamers should expect it.
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Writing in the official Walmart newsroom, Jerry Geisler, Walmart's Chief Information Security Officer in Global Tech has confirmed that:
'The holidays are upon us, and customers are shopping online more than ever before. Our merchandising, operations and tech teams are all focused on giving customers every opportunity to get the hottest gifts they want this season, including the latest PlayStation and Xbox consoles.'
Geisler continues to double down on how much of a threat AI reseller bots have been to PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X restocks, stating that some of Walmart's most notable traffic spikes this year have 'come from “grinch bots,” who like the original Grinch, are trying to steal these would-be presents. That’s traffic that we simply don’t want.'
As to when more PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles are being made available, Geisler states that:
'We have more next-gen consoles coming online soon, and we’re continuing to work hard to get them into the hands of as many customers as possible.'
There we have it, then, Walmart is going to have more PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles in stock soon and, unlike many other retailers, actually has some security in place to stop scalper bots from hijacking them all – thereby giving gamers a far easier chance of bagging a console
We therefore suggest that anyone looking for a console checks in at Walmart every day going forward, as well as follow its official social media communications, as the systems could go live at any time.
As T3 notes in our where to buy PS5 and where to buy Xbox Series X guides, this sort of action is exactly what retailers should be pursuing right now en masse, as the truth is that unless something is done to combat greedy scalpers running vast AI bot armies, every significant product launch going forward is going to be crippled.
In other gaming news, aptly named Nintendo of America president Doug Bowser has spoken about rumors of a Nintendo Switch Pro, which have been increasing in number over the past month or two.
Speaking to gaming site Polygon, Bowser stated that:
"First, we’re always looking at technology. And as we know, technology is constantly evolving and changing. And we’re always looking at what is coming to determine: How can it enhance and improve the gameplay experience? And whether that’s on a current platform, or whether that’s on a future platform, we’re always looking at that."
So, there you go – hardly conclusive but it is definitely not a hard no. To be honest, though, we'd be a little surprised if the head of Nintendo America killed all the hype like that, even if a Nintendo Switch Pro console isn't coming anytime soon.
When does T3 think a new Nintendo Switch Pro will arrive? Well, it's a tough question, as while it is true that the original Switch hardware is now orders of magnitude inferior to what the PS5 and Xbox Series X can do, the Switch and Switch Lite just keep killing it in the market place.
Why would Nintendo bring out a new console if its existing two were dominating?
As such, if a new system does come out this year, we expect it to be at the end of 2021, or more likely, the summer of 2022.
