MS Blames Chips for 360 Shortage

With Microsoft failing spectacularly to satisfy demand, people from all ranks in the company are giving the appropriate excuses and promises.

While anxious gamers face a Christmas devoid of Xbox 360 cheer, Microsoft is talking hard, giving reassurances that new stock will be coming in the coming weeks. The precise reason for the unfortunate shortage is still unknown, but Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer seems to have a suspect.

Ballmer pointed to chips (he didn't clarify whether he meant the core chips from IBM or the graphics chip from ATi) as the culprit, saying there simply weren't enough coming in to satisfy demand. It got so bad that Microsoft was considering holding back the launch.

"We decided to go ahead and launch rather than wait until post-Christmas and get a few million units out into the hands of users," Ballmer told the Ottawa Citizen this week. "We're doing our best."

That "few million units" could be hard to come by. US analyst group NPD released early sales figures for the Xbox 360 this week, claiming that the console sold just over 330,000 units between 22 November and 26 November.

Shortly after releasing the numbers, though, NPD pulled them, citing an "overstatement" of some figures, meaning sales of the Xbox 360 could be even lower.

But Ballmer repeated Microsoft's new mantra: the stock is coming.

"We are making more. All stores are getting new units each week. Can we make as many as people want? The answer is no, but not because we don't want to."

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games