This story is part of Christmas gift guide 2020, CNET’s gift selection with expert advice, reviews and recommendations for the latest tech gifts for you and your family.
Today might be your last, best chance to score a PS5 or Xbox before Christmas. Best Buy has next-gen consoles on sale today, Tuesday, December 15, but we expect stock to be limited as usual. The sale will “go live sometime after 8 p.m. Central Time” (9 p.m. ET, 6 p.m. PT), the company writes in a blog post. Those PS5 and Xbox consoles are only sold online, although they can be picked up from a Best Buy store using the store’s pick up option.
Here are the links to the company pages for all four consoles.
Sony
Picking up the disc version of the PS5 might cost more at first, but it does give you access to cheaper games in the store.
Sony
If you prefer the convenience of digital games, the PS5 Digital Edition is the way to go.
CNET
It lacks the grunt of the Xbox Series X, but this console is cheaper and a lot nicer looking. Great as a secondary console or for people who just want to subscribe to Xbox Game Pass.
Dan Ackerman / CNET
On paper, the Xbox Series X is the most powerful of all next-gen consoles.
Despite going on sale over a month ago, the new PlayStations and Xboxes remain incredibly difficult to find. Best Buy’s tweet announcing it will have more inventory on Tuesday was retweeted over 1,600 times within 50 minutes of going out.
It wasn’t immediately clear how much stock would be available from either system or whether Best Buy would put interested parties in a virtual queue, similar to Sony’s approach to traffic control when the PlayStation 5 is sold directly on its website. CNET has contacted Best Buy and will update if the company responds.
Also see: Sony PS5 vs. Microsoft Xbox Series X: The Best New Game Console for Holiday 2020
This story was originally published on December 14th and has been slightly updated as the sale date approaches.
Read more on GameSpot: PS5 and Xbox Series X / S will be in stock at Best Buy on Tuesday