Walmart will be selling PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles on Thursday

videogameschronicle.com:

Walmart will be making fresh batches of PS5 and Xbox Series X consoles available to purchase on Thursday.

Those hoping to secure one of the consoles will require a Walmart+ membership.

The retailer will be selling the standard disc-based PS5 model, the Digital Edition PS5 console and Xbox Series X online on January 13 beginning at 12pm PT / 3pm ET.

Once they’re available, Walmart+ members should be able to purchase the consoles through the following links, stock permitting:

Priced at $12.95 per month or $98 per year, Walmart+ benefits include unlimited free delivery, discounts on prescriptions and fuel, and access to exclusive offers such as a four-hour head start on Black Friday deals.

Walmart Plus membership, benefits and price explained

Xbox Series X/S systems continue to sell faster than any previous generation of Microsoft consoles, according to the company’s gaming boss Phil Spencer.

In a New York Times interview published on Monday, he claimed persistent Xbox shortages were not actually a result of less consoles being produced than was the case in previous generations. Instead, scarcity has been caused by a surge in demand since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“When you think about trying to go get an Xbox or a new PlayStation right now in the market, they’re really hard to find,” Spencer said. “And it’s not because supply is smaller than it’s ever been. Supply is actually as big as it’s ever been. It’s that demand is exceeding the supply for all of us.

“At this point, we’ve sold more of this generation of Xboxes, which is Xbox Series X and S, than we had any previous version of Xboxes. So it’s our job to get the supply there to meet that demand.”