A popular new Twitch bot is doing all the legwork to help gamers find out what stores have PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X consoles in stock.
Gamers have been hard-pressed to find a next-gen console for themselves or loved ones as the Christmas season approaches. It seems like almost everywhere is sold out, leaving only scalpers who have been selling units for insane markups.
Now, a new Twitch bot has entered the fray and is helping anyone who can’t keep up with the constant refreshing know when they can get their hands on Sony or Microsoft’s new console.
Viewers can simply go to the Twitch channel and watch live as the bot searches through various sites to find inventory. The bot will actively check through Walmart, Amazon, Best Buy, and more and state whether they’re out of stock or have consoles in.
Anyone whos looking for a new console check out https://t.co/OTF0KuJvkr live alerts for stock drops #PS5 #ps5restock
— Cam Ritz (@CameronRitz) November 26, 2020
As a nice little bonus, the channel even says when the last “drop” was. At the time of publishing, the last store to get both consoles in stock was Walmart at 9:30 PM EST on November 25.
Users can also use the !local command to check any store stock near them.
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According to Polygon, the channel is run by Cam Ritz and uses a program called streetmerchant that does the monitoring.
The program’s features page state that it “scrapes multiple websites for patterns of being stocked via API and Chromium.”
Ritz claims that so far, the bot has helped viewers actually find consoles – with a few nabbing Series Xs from GameStop and Sam’s Club.
Unfortunately, for most viewers, watching the stream will result in a near-endless red wave of OUT OF STOCK notifications, further cementing just how difficult it is to find a console this year.
As the days continue and the Christmas season approaches, keeping this channel open may be a great tool if you’re actively still looking for a PS5 or Xbox Series X. Or for those who have managed to already snag a console, it can serve as a reminder of just how difficult it can be.