Why parents are rushing to purchase video game consoles
Forget toilet paper, gaming consoles are flying off the shelves leaving electronics stores scrambling to meet demand. But why are they such hot property at the moment?
VIC News
Don't miss out on the headlines from VIC News. Followed categories will be added to My News.
A shortage of Xbox and PlayStation consoles is gripping gamers across Victoria.
Parents scrambling to find indoor activities for kids during the school holidays is fuelling demand.
New versions of the units are also hot property.
The Sunday Herald Sun phoned stores including JB Hi-Fi and Harvey Norman only to be told they’d sold out or had limited stock of Xbox One S, Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro consoles.
Gaming store EBGames had sold out of all Xbox consoles online with staff unable to say when they would be in stock again.
Families are going from store to store hunting for video game units.
Laylor mother Maria Kyriakopoulos said her 10-year-old son Alexis was one of the lucky ones — snaring a new PS4 to help break the isolation boredom.
“His friends have a PS4 and he likes playing with them,” Ms Kyriakopoulos said.
“It’s a good way for him to unwind and chat to his friends online.”
Gaming expert Zach Jackson, from industry website WellPlayed Australia, said new product launches had led to a surge in console purchases.
“There’s the fact that a handful of big titles have launched during this period,” Mr Jackson said.
“In some cases the supply of the console has been impacted, meaning there’s less stock available than usual.
“People are also spending more time at home and have time for leisure activities like gaming.
“Stock levels are rolling back and supply has increased.”
MORE NEWS
SECOND WAVE OF PANIC BUYING HITS MELBOURNE
HOW TO MAKE VIDEO GAMES MORE APPROPRIATE FOR YOUR KIDS