PlayStation’s limited edition Astro Bot DualSense controllers are already running out of stock, even though pre-order sales only went live on Friday, August 9.
At the time of writing, sales of the blue and white PlayStation 5 device had sold out at Target, Walmart, Best Buy, GameStop, Amazon, and even Sony’s own online store. The gamepad is a homage to a new character in the Astro Bot game itself and will launch alongside the next Astro Bot game on September 6. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on it, it costs $79.99.
Yes it's really that adorable.
FYI pre-orders for the Astro Bot Limited Edition DualSense are now live! https://t.co/k4L7ALYZD1 pic.twitter.com/RgtVjkOmTe
— PlayStation UK (@PlayStationUK) August 9, 2024
Aside from the adorable facade, complete with a white and blue palette and touchpad eyes, the model touts the same robust compatibility and battery life as a standard DualSense Wireless Controller. Developed by Team Asobi, it also features the same adaptive triggers, motion controls, and haptics.
There are now reports that secondhand versions have been flogged on eBay for almost double the retail price at around $150. Players have expressed their disappointment of not snagging a device, with some complaining that they were unable to access the Sony website to buy one. One user wrote on X that they “waited to get in over 1 hour, but once in, the site is broken,” while another added that “there’s more than an hour wait to get into the site.”
eBay scalpers….. pic.twitter.com/Lwu3DKFIWQ
— Xvault Gaming (@Xvault2) August 11, 2024
Waited to get in over 1 hour, but once in, the site is broken. Can't complete order.
It is working so poorly that it feels like there is more demand for the DualSense – Astro Bot Limited Edition controller than how pre-orders went for the PS5 leading up to its launch.
— Cameron Usman (@cusman78) August 9, 2024
Wow, the Astro Bot PS5 DualSense controller instantly sold out everywhere except PS Direct, and there's more than an hour wait to get into the site
— DAEMON (@DaemZero) August 9, 2024
It’s not the first time Sony has released a limited edition controller of a game. It launched a symbiote-themed controller alongside Marvel’s Spider-Man 2 last year, as well as gamepads for Final Fantasy XVI, and God of War: Ragnarök.
It remains to be seen whether Astro Bot controllers will be restocked.
Who is Astro Bot?
Astro Bot began life in 2018 as the main character in a PlayStation VR game designed to showcase and demonstrate PS VR’s capabilities. In a rather meta fashion, he and his friend live inside of the older console’s DualShock 4 controller.
He returned in 2020 in the pack-in game Astro’s Playroom which showed buyers of the PlayStation 5 how to use that console’s gamepad and its features.
Since then Astro has emerged as a console mascot similar to the likes of Mario or Sonic in the old days of the early 1990s.
Featured image: Sony
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