Bleak Christmas for 360 Wishers

Retailers tell us that new shipments are coming in, but not nearly enough to satisfy demand.

Christmas is only a couple of days away, but still there are many people frantically searching for the must-have gaming gift of 2005: the Xbox 360. Microsoft has promised all along that it plans to follow up the admittedly low launch stock with weekly shipments, and while the company is keeping up its end of the bargain, the reality will leave many frustrated.

In both the US and the UK, Microsoft has started to roll out new stock. US retailers told GameSpot that the first post-launch shipments were only now starting to trickle into stores.

In the UK, several retailers polled by Kikizo said that they had received second and even third shipments, but the numbers of consoles coming in from Microsoft are still not nearly enough to satisfy demand.

One retail source at the flagship branch of one of the UK's leading entertainment stores said that while his store had already got two shipments since the launch on 2 December, both numbered in the 10s and both were sold out within minutes.

In the US, major online retailers are telling new buyers that they may have to wait until as late as March.

Microsoft says it is "working around the clock to deliver as many Xbox 360 consoles as humanly possible to meet the high consumer demand", but that does not seem to be enough.

According to one reporter close to Microsoft, while the company is putting on a brave face for the press, internally there is disappointment that the launch has not gone as well as it could.

Britons looking for reassurances from Microsoft will also go home wanting. The company has refused to give any specifics about how many Xbox 360s it has coming into the country or when it will be widely available.

As they say, no news is good news - or is it?

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games