Three months after their release, it’s still just as difficult to get a PS5 or Xbox Series. A launch which suffers from supply and production difficulties linked to the health crisis, but also from the phenomenon of “scalping”, a practice which consists in buying consoles – often using software which makes it possible to place good orders faster than humans – then resell them on sites like eBay at premium rates.

Sky News reports that British MP Douglas Chapman has introduced a bill to make the practice of scalping illegal, drawing on existing laws that prohibit reselling tickets to concerts or events for amounts “that far exceed original amounts “.

We have proposed that a similar legislative process be put in place to ensure that consumers can purchase game consoles and computer components at a price that does not exceed the price recommended by manufacturers, and that the resale of products purchased by bots be made illegal.

If the deputy recognizes that this bill has little chance of success, he explains that this is a way of calling on the government “to take its responsibilities” in the face of this situation which is particularly popular. ‘she in the UK, where a group of “scalpers” boasted to have acquired nearly 3,500 PS5 in the space of a few weeks, before reselling them at a higher price.

Douglas Chapman had already tabled a “preliminary motion” last December, and he has since won the support of other members of the British parliament. Caroline Dinenage, Minister of State for Sports, Media and Creative Industries, said the following:

Officials are discussing this issue with the professional association of the video game industry. We know that mass buying through the use of bots is a concern for some of their members who are currently reviewing all of the other steps they can take to prevent these behaviors and are working with resellers to improve the customer experience. .

Also in the United Kingdom, the GAME brand has recently set up automatic checks to make sure no one is buying multiple consoles.

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