Sony really dropped the ball on this and, really PO'ed a lot of people.
I don't see a reason why they needed to beat Microsoft to the punch on this. So what if pre-orders were made available before Xbox? It's not like anyone's going to get theirs any sooner, as the launch day is 11/12. MS launches Xbox on 11/10. Regardless, Xbox launches first.
They also look like they took the most lenient definition of 9/17 they could - GMT. Problem is Sony mentioned nothing about times. They either lost control of the pre-order process, or weren't informed retailers were going to jump the gun. Either way, it reflects poorly on Sony.
Secondly, most retailers didn't honor their notifications when pre-order was available. Best Buy was the only one of the majors I registered with that did. I missed the email, so that's on me to miss out with them. Doesn't excuse the others.
Thirdly, Sony executives were adamant that the pre-order process was going give plenty of warning about when pre-orders going to begin. They didn't.
Fourthy, and most infuriating, is the fact that none of the vendors put 1 per customer limit on pre-orders. Sony's doing it for their lottery. Why couldn't they demand that retailers do that as well. Now we have jerks hoarding them and trying to gouge people for up to $2000 for a PS5. Absolutely unacceptable.
Microsoft is already capitalizing on this screw up. I don't blame them.
Sony better do something to make this right. They completely let down their customers.