There was absolute bedlam at one Tokyo retailer overnight, as fresh stock of the under-supplied PlayStation 5 arrived. Since releasing last November, Sony’s new console has been borderline impossible to find all around the world, but Japan has been on the particularly short end of the stick, with hardware sales falling behind even the Nintendo Wii U launch-aligned.

Kotaku reports, however, that the Yodobashi Camera electronics megastore in Akihabara sold a bunch of new systems today – and all hell broke loose. We don’t even need to describe the scenes, because you can see them for yourself, courtesy of the video embedded below:

Ultimately, things got so bad that the police were called and sales of the system were halted. So, what happened? Well, obviously, as already pointed out, stock is slim. But this was compounded by the fact that the Akihabara branch of Yodobashi Camera in question doesn’t require the use of the retailer’s black credit card to purchase hardware – a regulation implemented to help thwart scalpers.

In addition, the store gave out numbered tickets on a first come, first served basis to potential purchasers. In the past it’s offered raffles, where those who have their number called are then given the opportunity to buy a system. Obviously, all of these circumstances contributed to the scenes you see above.

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It’s worth noting that this all occurred at a time when the Japanese government has implemented a state of emergency due to the ongoing pandemic, and Tokyo is unsurprisingly the worst affected city in the country.

[source twitter.com, via kotaku.com]