Hard Station: the strange world of tech embargoes

Becoming one of the first people in Ireland to receive a Sony PlayStation 5 came with excitement and headaches

Brian Lloyd playing the new Playstation 5: ‘Demand for the new machine borders on frenzy.’ Picture: Bryan Meade

It arrives in a tightly sealed box, inconspicuous and bland, covered in brown sellotape. There is nothing about its outward appearance that gives away how much the contents of this box are worth to so many. Yet there are some signs for those who may be watching.

The delivery man repeatedly asks for my name before he turns the box over to me. He makes me sign two separate dockets, before looking at it one ...