UK retailer Currys has PS5s listed on its website for £2449, but it's not the price gouge it appears to be by the electronics store.
PS5's pre-order process did not go according to plan. Over the summer, gamers were promised that they would be given plenty of warning ahead of time before pre-orders went live. However, immediately after an event during which it revealed the price of the console, it was announced that pre-orders for the PS5 would be available the following morning. Even worse, some retailers decided to make them available that night.
That resulted in a lot of people waiting in virtual queues until the wee hours of the morning, and most of them being left disappointed when they didn't land themselves a console. Since then, PS5 pre-orders have been appearing on resale sites, some asking for as much as $1900.
However, some gamers were left in an even more extreme state of shock upon discovering PS5s selling at £2449 ($3167) each. Not on a resale site either, but courtesy of electronics retailer Currys in the UK. Even more baffling is the fact that the standard and digital editions of the console are both listed for this same lofty price. There is a catch though, and it explains why the console has been listed at such a high price.
Currys hasn't managed to get its hands on a few extra PS5s and is trying to make the most out of them. Nor has someone in charge of the listing made an error. The £2449 PS's can only be pre-ordered by those in possession of a special discount code. Anyone with this code can apply it which leads to the price reducing by £2000, bringing the console back down to its recommended retail price in the UK.
The reason Currys did this was to make sure PS5 pre-orders went to the right people. Customers had to place a £5 deposit in order to land a valid pre-order code. They were then refunded the £5 when placing an order for the PS5 after seeing it reduced by £2000. Customers were able to pay the full £2449 for the console, however, they would not have landed themselves a pre-order and instead had the money refunded a few days later.
Source: Currys