The situation on RTX 50 launch day looks dire. It seems that the few people who manage to find the cards in stock online will either be powered by fast AI algorithms or simply lucky to be near retailer servers.
We previously reported on the RTX 50 launch day lottery in Japan. The country is known for such draws, which, in order to prevent scalping, give everyone in line an equal chance to purchase limited-supply products. Only those whose tickets are chosen will be allowed to buy the product. While it's hard to call that a win, at least some participants don't leave empty-handed.
According to Japanese media, one of the lotteries at PC Koubou, which started earlier (around 15:00 local time), ended in chaos. People were seen climbing over the fence of a nearby kindergarten, and screams were heard. There's also a photo of a destroyed kingergarten sign (added above). The lottery concluded before many attendees even arrived, leading to frustration and disorder at the venue.
The PC Koubou Parts Hall has started calling for entries for a lottery to purchase the RTX5090, but the situation is currently in chaos.
Angry shouts were heard, and some people even climbed over the fence of the kindergarten next door.
@sarasteam0151 (translation)
Swedish retailer Inet confirms there may not be any RTX 5090 stock at launch. It seems they are waiting for an update from their courier company. Even if any 5090 units arrive, the retailer expects them to sell out immediately. The 5080, on the other hand, should sell "quickly."
According to a Redditor who compiled a list of MicroCenter locations and their expected RTX 5090/5080 stock, only 233 RTX 5090 cards were distributed across all stores in the U.S. Similarly, only 2,393 RTX 5080 models were allocated. This is an extremely low number of cards for launch day, though it's important to note that we cannot verify the accuracy of this list.
However, Tustin, California, appears to be one of the few locations where lining up might make sense. The queue is already over 300 people long show messages shared on Reddit, meaning that if the numbers above are correct, the last people in line won't even have a chance to buy a card.
While it's great to see such high demand for new graphics cards, it's difficult to understand why NVIDIA did not prepare a larger stock for launch. The company was not forced to release the cards this early, and there is clearly a significant supply issue. Nothing would have changed if the launch had been delayed by a month, allowing board partners to build inventory. This way, customers wouldn't have to rely on luck, fast reflexes, or being prepared to camp outside stores.
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I never understood this shit, do slanteye companies just not know about supply and demand? The same shit happens with the gaystation, every new release gets instantly sold out everywhere. Just raise the price????
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They can only build so many, so it's a balance of waiting to build stock or just releasing sooner
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but if supply is limited, why don't they just raise the price? What possible reason do they have for leaving money soys are clearly willing to spend on the table?
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This used to happen with sports cards and Panini massively raised the prices so that they would get more of the money
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