The announcement of the new lockdown period coincides with the expected release of the new consoles. We take stock of the PS5 and Xbox pre-orders and the situation in stores.
New generation consoles // Source: Frandroid
Update November 7: FNAC begins calling its customers to make appointments as part of the Click and Collect withdrawal.
Still facing the Covid-19 epidemic, Emmanuel Macron announced a new period of confinement from Friday, October 30, and at least until December 1, 2020. The highly anticipated next-gen consoles, the PS5 and Xbox Series S and X, officially release in the middle of this period. Many of you have already been asking us the question of the management of pre-orders by major brands, in particular Fnac and Micromania. Here are their first elements of answers, pending a more complete update.
The situation at Micromania
Micromania was the first to clearly speak out specifically about the PS5 pre-orders, for which demand has been particularly strong. The chain of stores is in a rather special situation, because it first asks for a deposit for the reservation of the console, then to fully prepay the console before, in principle, to come back to the store to pick up the console on the big day. this is obviously called into question by the confinement. Here are the different possibilities.
First, this solution will be completely free, and if you came in store on October 29 to prepay shipping costs for an order, including the PlayStation 5, you will have the possibility of being reimbursed by Micromania. It is the latter who will contact you if you are concerned by the operation.
Regarding the Xbox Series S and Series X, Micromania wants to set up its contactless withdrawal system by November 10, the release date of the machines.
It should also be understood that if you have not received a call or email from Micromania to confirm the availability of your PS5 on November 19, so do not come to the store. With the availability of its new console inventory after Nov. 19 being uncertain, the chain likely doesn’t want to take prepayment for consoles it might not be able to deliver.
The situation at Fnac
We directly questioned a representative of Fnac, who was able to answer a few questions. Be careful, this information can obviously still change depending on the publication of the decrees and the decisions of the government.
What happens for pre-orders with in-store pickup? Will the orders be or can they be switched to home delivery? Will they still be available in stores despite the confinement?
Fnac tells us that store withdrawals can continue to be done, with the solutions ” click and collect “And” click and drive From the merchant.
Regarding pre-orders made directly in store, is it also possible to switch to home delivery? Will they still be available in stores despite the confinement?
For the moment, Fnac continues to accept in-store withdrawals, and therefore does not plan to switch.
Is there anything to know about pre-orders with home deliveries?
Customers are expected to be delivered as planned, with no additional information at this time.
For the Fnac, the watchword for the moment is to favor the withdrawal in store, in order to facilitate the logistic efforts of the sign.
Since November 7, the brand begins to call its customers who had opted for the Click and collect in order to make an appointment to come and pick up their console from Tuesday, November 10.
The Xbox All Access went through the stores: how will it work?
Microsoft made a strong statement by announcing its new Xbox All Access offer in France which allows you to buy an Xbox Series S or an Xbox Series X on credit with an Xbox Game Pass Ultimate subscription over 24 months, from 24.99 euros per month .
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Problem: this offer only offered at Micromania and Fnac is in principle only offered in stores. This is a real credit offer, which requires the creation of a file with a credit organization, and the process is therefore much easier to manage in store.
We immediately put the question to Microsoft to find out more about the future of this offering. The firm told us that it was working on new solutions with its two partners. We therefore hope that it will be possible to access this offer online, through a new system. For the moment, Fnac tells us that there are no plans to offer Xbox All Access online.
This article will be updated as soon as other brands communicate, or answer our questions.