

Why buy an old console when there’s a new one? While the Switch is readily available at Amazon, Target, and Walmart, you may have better luck finding the Sony and Microsoft consoles at dedicated electronics retailers like GameStop and Best Buy.

They’re all available in stores for around $300. Those are the previous-generation consoles released in 2013 and, for the Switch, 2017. If your search for the latest console proves fruitless, consider buying the Sony PlayStation 4, Microsoft Xbox One, or Nintendo Switch. “If I was a kid, I would gladly take that IOU." “Kids aren’t dumb and know how hard it is to get these things this year,” says David Abrams, founder of CAG, an almost 20-year-old online community that focuses on video game deals. “No store is going to give you a hard time” if you need to return one, Sabatino says.Īnd, as noted above, there are plenty of other devices and services that would make a great gift for the gamer in your life-especially if you promise to get them one of the new consoles for some future birthday or for the holidays next year. Don't worry-you won’t end up with multiple consoles. They may even be willing to take an order or put you on a waiting list. Take a half-hour to call local stores to ask if they have the game console in stock and, if not, when it might be available. “Go to the store anyway, just to ask the salespeople when it could be in stock, and they might have it,” he says. And the PlayStation and Xbox communities on Reddit and Discord (which is basically a gamer-specific version of Slack or Microsoft Teams) often share shopping updates in their chat rooms.ĭon’t let the Sold Out notices on retailer websites deter you, says Tom Sabatino, who leads the team of shoppers that buys every product Consumer Reports tests, from headphones to refrigerators to pickup trucks.

Wario64, a prominent Twitter user, regularly tweets in-stock notifications, for example. Include less common outlets, such as Adorama and Newegg.Īlso enlist the help of experts who keep a close eye on video game-related stock. Because stores often get shipments every few days, start by requesting in-stock alerts from retailers like Best Buy and GameStop.
