Long ago, Sony was teasing the PlayStation 5 launch in India. That was way before the global launch of the console that happened in November 12. Several regions received the console on November 19, but India wasn’t among them. Now, it’s the last day of 2020, and apparently, the PlayStation 5 launch in India has been forgotten by Sony. Microsoft started selling its new Xbox Series X and Series S in India last month. However, we’re still clueless about the official launch date of the PlayStation 5 in the country. We know that Sony is suffering from a big demand and the stocks aren’t that big. Perhaps it’s skipping India until the situation becomes stable.
PlayStation 5 launch in India has been struggling since the beginning of the year
The company is also having serious problems to launch the device in India. Earlier in the year, the company had to deal with a patent dispute where the trademark for the PS5 name in the country was filed by an individual three months before Sony filed for the trademark. This seems crazy, but it’s true. As of now, we only know the India pricing of the PlayStation 5, which was announced back in October, along with a listing on the official PlayStation website. Ever since then, there hasn’t been any other communication from Sony India regarding the launch or pre-orders. In counterpart, other countries are already getting the second and even third batch of PlayStation 5 units to supply the massive demand. Interestingly, some marketing materials had mentioned an obscure “late 2020” availability. Of course, the company will not be able to comply with that.
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The lack of transparency is also bothering PlayStation fans in India
The strangest fact is that Sony is keeping a low profile about the situation. The company’s communication isn’t the best as it took several months to share some light on the PS5. Moreover, it’s a game strategy and support for the PS4 wasn’t clear until the last months before the PS5 launch. Now, the Indian situation seems like the company is neglecting its fanbase. Meanwhile, Microsoft claims that it has witnessed a record demand and sales for the new consoles globally, which includes India. It was one of the 40 countries where the Xbox Series X and Series S were available on launch day. The stock situation is complicated in the whole world, but at least Indian customers have a chance of getting one. That same can be said for the PlayStation 5.
The PS5 costs INR 49,990 in India (~$680), while the PS5 Digital Edition costs INR 39,990 (~$547). At this point, we can only hope for an early 2021 launch in India. According to The Mako Reactor (via XDA-Devleopers), Indian customers will not “enjoy” the PS5 launch at fully. Apparently, the reason is that the PlayStation 5 will not come with any special game bundles at launch. Still, customers will get a one-year warranty where customers will be entitled to a replacement unit, instead of repair. However, boxed accessories and controllers will not have any warranty or after-sales support. This is a serious omission, especially when reports suggest that the DualSense is already presenting issues.