After months of anticipation, the PlayStation 5 has finally gone on sale in the UK today.
Unsurprisingly, many eager fans have scrambled to buy the console, which went on sale in the US last week.
However, several retailer websites appear to have crashed amid the rush to buy the PlayStation 5.
Mirror Online has been unable to access the John Lewis, GAME or Tesco websites this morning.
The John Lewis website displays an error message, reading: "NO SIGNAL. We’re currently experiencing a problem. While we work on fixing this, please try to refresh the page or come back later."
Meanwhile, the GAME website won't load at all, with a message simply reading: "This site can't be reached."
Several frustrated customers have taken to Twitter to discuss the website outages.
One user said: "john lewis are a disgrace. I had the ps5 in checkout before they went down."
Another wrote: "Absolute shambles. Tried multiple retailers and second it hit 9, every single one went down. Even had a console in the basket with John Lewis. Site finally comes back up, out of stock. Items in your basket should be f***ing reserved you mugs."
And one joked: "Curry’s, Game and John Lewis have done an absolutely amazing job on making sure they have the absolute worst websites ever."
A John Lewis spokeswoman said: ""There have been extremely high levels of demand for our website today and we are experiencing some technical issues. Our teams are working hard to get the site running smoothly again as soon as possible. We apologise to customers for any inconvenience caused."
For those who have yet to make a purchase, there is very limited stock available online for the new console at major retailers like Amazon and John Lewis. So shoppers will need to be very quick in order to snap one up.
Amid the England lockdown, the PS5 is not available to purchase in physical stores.
However, photos from Liverpool indicate that this hasn't stopped some keen shoppers, with a huge queue forming outside GAME on Lord Street in Liverpool city centre.
Sid Shuman, Senior Director, SIE Content Communications, said: “No units will be available in-store for purchase on launch day (November 12 or November 19, depending on your region) – please don’t plan on camping out or lining up at your local retailer on launch day in hopes of finding a PS5 console for purchase.
"Be safe, stay home, and place your order online.
“Gamers who have pre-ordered for pick-up at their local retailer should still be able to do so at their designated appointment time, under the retailer’s safety protocols. Please confirm the details with your local retailer.
“A special thank you to our entire community for your continued support this year. Here’s to the next generation of gaming!”
