On November 2, new additional measures to contain the pandemic will come into force. However, you can still pick up your console pre-orders in stores. This is the current situation.
What is the “Lockdown Light”? At the meeting of federal and state leaders on October 28, a partial lockdown was decided, which starts on November 2 and will continue until the end of the month. The decisions are supposed to apply nationwide.
This lockdown differs from the first mainly in that it does not affect retail. Stores can remain open as long as they comply with hygiene regulations.
There were prior concerns that pre-order customers of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X would not receive their pre-orders due to a possible total lockdown. But that is not the case. However, you still need to keep a few things in mind when picking up your console in the store.
Pick up pre-orders in stores
I pre-ordered at Saturn / MediaMarkt: Originally, it was planned that a maximum of one customer per 25 square meters could be in a store, but this number has been relaxed. From November 2, it is one person per 10 square meters.
According to gameswirtschaft.de, Saturn and MediaMarkt branches have an average area of about 2,500 square meters. Therefore, there could be around 250 people in the stores at the same time. While it sounds like a large number, you should still prepare for the possibility of long lines forming outside the stores when pre-order customers come to pick up their consoles.
We have not yet received a response to our inquiry at Media Markt and Saturn regarding whether further measures are planned.
I pre-ordered at GameStop: GameStop stores are significantly smaller than a MediaMarkt or Saturn, which means that fewer people can be present in them. Therefore, special measures will be in place at GameStop to prevent long lines from forming outside the stores on release days.
Employees at the individual branches will call pre-order customers to discuss possible times when they can pick up their pre-orders. So expect that you should receive a call soon if you pre-ordered at GameStop. These measures are supposed to apply nationwide.
Furthermore, GameStop management is supposed to be working on a way to ship consoles to customers by mail in case a complete lockdown occurs. However, this option is not guaranteed yet, as there are still some logistical issues to be resolved.
How about you? Will you pick up your console in the store or will it be delivered directly to your home? Or are you like MeinMMO author Sven, who couldn’t pre-order the PS5 in time?
