Headaches for Xbox 360 Global Launch

Microsoft looks to be learning the hard way why global launches aren't more popular.

It was supposed to be easy. Make a load of Xbox 360s, deliver them to shops in North America, Europe and Japan, and then launch the console within days in the three regions and watch the money roll in. But Microsoft is finding out why no company has tried this ambitious strategy before.

There's just over a month to go now until the 360 launches in Europe on 2 December and it's starting to look grim for those hoping to get their hands on one before the end of the year.

"It looks like a lot of people are going to be disappointed until the New Year," said Nick Chilcott of supermarket chain ASDA told UK trade paper MCV.

According to MCV, independent retailers have been backhanded by Microsoft, which is giving them as little as four Premium bundles (which includes the hard drive) and two Core System bundles per store. And it's not looking much better for the major retailers.

Already Microsoft is trying to bury the issue in semantics.

"We did say we're going to be tight on day one, but people should think about this over a longer period than the first weekend," UK Xbox boss Neil Thompson told MCV.

"Despite what some people are saying, we absolutely are going to replenish [stock] before Christmas. I could make the whole world or the UK wait four months or I could satisfy some of the demand on day one. That's what we chose to do. You're damned if you do, you're damned if you don't."

And it's not just the hardware that's running late. Developers are having to hurry their games to make the deadline if they want to be there on day one.

Microsoft's J Allard admitted earlier that some of the first games for the console are not going to show off what the console is capable of, but he insisted that Microsoft would not rush its in-house games, Perfect Dark Zero, Kameo: Elements of Power and Project Gotham Racing 3.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games