About 100 customers lined up for hours at a Union County Game Stop to purchase the new Play Station console selling at the store on Good Friday.
Store officials said the masked, socially distanced and orderly crowd of mainly 75 men waited for over 8 hours for Game Stop's doors to open at 7 a.m.
According to Game Stop marketing officials, game consoles are always in demand shortly after launch, but the demand for Sony’s PlayStation 5 right now is unique.
Officials said the console comes at a time when even those who might not think of gaming as their first choice of a hobby are spending more hours than ever at home.
"It's a major upgrade over Sony’s previous generation of gaming devices," Game Stop officials said.
Officials could not confirm how many consoles were at the Union County store, but those who have managed to snag a console have to decide between keeping it or taking it to the thriving resale online market, where one with a suggested retail price of $499 can easily fetch $800 or more.
"It’s part of a Black Friday trend this year: the traditional “doorbusters” designed to get people into the store in the wee hours of the morning instead of web-only deals.
Officials said they are only allowing about five customers into the store due to COVID-19 guidelines.