In an effort to curb PS5 scalpers, Sony Japan is ordering retailers in the country to break PS5 box seals in front of customers, thereby assuring that they will be the ones using the consoles and are not for reselling. It’s a very admirable effort against the always looming threat of scalping, as even now, more than a year later, PS5s are still widely scalped worldwide.

The report comes from Yahoo JP, and here is a short translation from Google:

“Malicious resale” where the home video game console “PlayStation 5 (PS5)” is sold at a price higher than the suggested retail price. It has been revealed that Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE), which sells the product, is distributing a sticker with the word “opened” to retailers.

The seal is operated by the store. Basically, it is a mechanism that puts a sticker on the PS5 box in advance, cuts off the sticker when selling, sells it, and “opens” it. The peeled seal is difficult to peel off, and the box may be scratched if it is forcibly peeled off.

It seems that the aim is to prevent some purchasers who purchased the PS5 from “malicious resale” as it is, and to cut the seal in advance so that it will not sell as a new product. Although SIE said that it distributes stickers to retailers, it avoids mentioning the scale and timing.

The article was brought up over on the PS5 subreddit, where several users praised Sony Japan’s efforts to curb PS5 scalpers and reselling. However, it’s unknown if such efforts can be implemented elsewhere, like in the US; there are sentiments that most buyers in the West would not really care about broken seals so long as the actual console works and is brand-new.

In case you missed it, a Spring Sale is now ongoing for PlayStation, where more than 500 games are discounted! Check out the full list of games on sale here.

Source: Yahoo JP