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Published Sep 30, 2026, 10:23 AM EDT

Gabriel is a contributer at Polygon who writes about video games from their home in Baltimore. They enjoy horror games, story-driven RPGs, and Bloodbourne. 

Gamers must enter a lottery to win a chance to purchase a PS5 Pro in Japan

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Sony is struggling to meet the high consumer demand for the PlayStation 5 Pro, the more powerful version of the PS5, and console prices are steeper than ever, in part due to the rising cost of RAM and other components needed to make the console. Furthermore, scalpers are reselling the PS5 Pro at astronomical prices, making it difficult, if not impossible, for many gamers to get their hands on.

To address the issue, Sony announced in a PlayStation Blog post that it has instituted a lottery system including requirements to purchase the PS5 Pro in Japan. Gamers who want to buy the PS5 Pro in Japan need to have a Japanese PlayStation Network account with access to online services. In addition, the PSN account must have a total of 60 hours of cumulative playtime logged between September 27, 2024 and September 27, 2026. It's not a high bar, as most gamers have probably managed to play for 60 hours in the past two years. The playtime requirement is designed to stop scalpers from being able to enter the lottery and get a chance to purchase and resell the console.

The lottery sign-up is open until October 7. Prospective purchasers will be notified whether they can try to buy a PS5 Pro by October 26. If selected, lottery winners have until November 2 to purchase the console for 137,980 yen, which is approximately $875. Signing up for the lottery, of course, does not guarantee a chance to order the console as supply will limit the number of people who are ultimately able to get a console.

At the moment, Sony has not instituted similar lottery systems and requirements to purchase the PS5 Pro in other territories, but it's certainly a possibility if demand remains high and supplies continue to be limited. In the meantime, gamers who want the console have to choose between paying extremely high resale prices or going without, a difficult decision given the highly anticipated release of GTA 6 in November.