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Walk-Ins Get 360 In April?

Posted by Zonk on from the truly-ensaddening dept.

IGN has a piece talking to retail stores across the country about the upcoming 360 launch, and it doesn't look good. From the article: "According to retailers in San Francisco, Chicago, New York, Miami and Houston, there will be mass shortage of Xbox 360 units on the targeted launch date of November 22. IGN contacted dozens of stores around the country, including Gamestop, EB Games, Electronics Boutique, Target and Walmart. One short-tempered clerk at a Gamestop in New York estimated that Xbox 360 units will not be available for walk-in customers until April. That's right, April."

66 comments

  1. "Real" shortage? by Doomstalk · · Score: 1

    I'm not so sure this is artificial scarcity anymore. It's one thing to create a buzz with a brief period of scarcity. It's another thing to extend it so long that you eat up all of your much touted lead time on the competition.

    1. Re:"Real" shortage? by Teddy+Beartuzzi · · Score: 2, Insightful

      Why? A couple of months *is* a brief period. It does no good to simply have the scarcity last only a few weeks. You need the long delay to make the angst palpable. And then they'll announce "Ooh, we're getting new shipments in we weren't expecting!" as the idiots slaver hungrily at the door each week.

      I have no doubt this is still all artificial.

    2. Re:"Real" shortage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Artificial shortage = Artificial Demand.

      Its amazing what gamers put up with to be the latest and greatest.

      If I ever won one of these things, instant eBay. Good money.

    3. Re:"Real" shortage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      November to April is five months.

      That is considerably longer than two months. Who wasted a mod point calling you insightful?

    4. Re:"Real" shortage? by badasscat · · Score: 4, Insightful

      I'm not so sure this is artificial scarcity anymore. It's one thing to create a buzz with a brief period of scarcity. It's another thing to extend it so long that you eat up all of your much touted lead time on the competition.

      And it's another still to rely on clerks at GameStop for reliable information.

      Seriously, I don't get this. Do you rely on the cashier at Wal-Mart for information on your favorite director's next film or for the latest info on HD technology? Why are people constantly quoting counter clerks at game stores for industry info? These guys know nothing. It's a truly bizarre phenomenon - every time I walk into a game store I see half a dozen people literally hovering over the counter talking to the clerks about games, then I'll bet it's those same people who hit up sites like this with the "info" they've gleaned. To me, this carries no more weight than asking any random person on the street the same questions and then posting their answers.

      These guys make minimum wage to ring up your purchases. That's all they do. They do not have industry "contacts", they do not talk to developers or publishers or manufacturers. They ring up purchases and they vacuum the store at closing time. That's what they're paid to do and that's the extent of their real knowledge. Anything else you get from them is, at best, something they've read in a magazine - which is the same thing you could do yourself.

      I kinda get the feeling that both the clerks themselves and the guys who chat them up for info to post on the net actually like feeling like they have this little "shadow" game industry unto themselves. They like starting rumors; they don't even want real info. A couple years ago I actually worked for a publisher and I'd go into the GameStop near my company all the time, often with my company colors on (we had jackets with our company name on them). Not that I'd tell anyone anything if they asked, but not a single person ever even tried getting info from me, even if they were talking to the counter clerk about my company's games with me standing right next to them! The clerks themselves must have known who we were (a lot of us frequented this GameStop, and they knew we were in the neighborhood), but not a single one of them ever tried to pump us for info either. It was kind of funny, but it definitely made me think that real info is not even what these guys want - juicy info is what they want, whether or not it's true. Truth is not really on their radar, and that's most likely the case with this Xbox 360 rumor just as it is with everything else.

    5. Re:"Real" shortage? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      It's not so much the clerks that make it pointless to ask an EB/Gamestop employee how well a launch will do (or how well a system will sell) but in a lot of was it is the customers. When you walk into a Walmart / Target / Superstore and check out who is looking at the game racks you see (mostly) pretty average people that probably represent 80% of the gaming market; on the other hand, when you walk into EB / Gamestop most of the customers are gaming nerds who spend their lives playing and talking about videogames. Regardless of how good a system is, or how well people will accept it, EB / Gamestop will probably sell out their initial shipment (most of my local EB stores sold out the NGage). It wouldn't surprise me to find out that EB/ Gamestop were already taking pre-orders for the third and fourth shipments of the XBox 360 while first run XBox 360 preorders at Walmart have not sold out yet.

    6. Re:"Real" shortage? by shawb · · Score: 2, Interesting

      There's another reason to not believe game store employees: in the past, they have been instructed to lie to the customers about availability. I have friends who worked at various video game stores, and when a hot new item finally hit the market, they were supposed to tell the customer that there's only one or two left even if there was a whole pallete of PS2s, Wavebirds or whatever left. They almost never ran out of stock on release day or even the first week on highly anticipated releases.

      The obvious benefits to the store for doing this are 1)it prevents the customer for shopping around. Not so much that prices are different, but many game stores have required bundles on release and it is the bundle where they really make their overhead. 2)Customers are more likely to pre-order in the future if they think the video game manufacturors don't really supply the full demand at launch.

      Now it is possible that this is simply a regional thing. I live in the Midwest, so I can see how in other markets they do actually sell out. The larger markets wouldn't have a reason to lie about availability if they honestly do sell every unit they get. It is also possible that these friends of mine were lying, spreading a myth similar to cow tipping, but I would find it odd that people who were employed by all the major video game stores would have the same story. It is also possible that lying to the customer is now forbidden rather than encouraged (I always heard the lying was ordered from on high) but I don't really see this happening as that means their main competition is now Wal-Mart.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    7. Re:"Real" shortage? by Doomstalk · · Score: 0

      Do you rely on the cashier at Wal-Mart for information on your favorite director's next film or for the latest info on HD technology?

      No. But, on the other hand, do you ask store managers for supply information? Yes. They're totally different things. A clerk doesn't necessarily need to know about what he's selling (it'd be much better if s/he did, but that's neither here nor there), but a manager damn well better know what inventory is coming into the store.

    8. Re:"Real" shortage? by Breakfast+Pants · · Score: 1

      For something like a console launch they damn well don't know.

      --

      --

      WHO ATE MY BREAKFAST PANTS?
    9. Re:"Real" shortage? by Traiklin · · Score: 1

      The obvious benefits to the store for doing this are 1)it prevents the customer for shopping around. Not so much that prices are different, but many game stores have required bundles on release and it is the bundle where they really make their overhead. 2)Customers are more likely to pre-order in the future if they think the video game manufacturors don't really supply the full demand at launch.

      how is telling people "We don't have it" going to stop them from going somewheres else?

      I remember when the SNES came out, no problems getting it, N64, no problems getting it (just had to wait like 2 weeks if that), Playstation and Saturn, Toys R us had plenty, PS2, had to wait 6 weeks before I got it. If a place said we don't have it I went and tried another place, hiding them in the back just means people are less likely to shop at that store on release day.

      and if the rumors of people with preorders are true it might even make people stop preordering, cause when they tell you and the slip says You WILL get the item on release day and you don't get it on release day people tend to get the feeling of being ripped off.

    10. Re:"Real" shortage? by shawb · · Score: 1

      They don't say that they don't have it, they just say there's only one or two in stock when in reality they have plenty. Customers will then assume that everyone else is almost sold out, and not go elsewhere. And as I said, this could be false information.

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    11. Re:"Real" shortage? by shawb · · Score: 1

      And besides, if my acquaintances lied to me about video game store employees lying about availability, that would in and of itself show a tendancy for video game employees to lie. Unless they were lying about actually working there in the first place :b

      --
      I'll never make that mistake again, reading the experts' opinions. - Feynman
    12. Re:"Real" shortage? by Jakeypants · · Score: 0, Flamebait

      "I see half a dozen people literally hovering over the counter talking to the clerks about games."

      Really? Are you sure you mean "literally?" If so, that's incredible and I want to go to your GameStop!

    13. Re:"Real" shortage? by Thrantor · · Score: 1


              Sorry to contradict you but quite a few of the employees at video games stores DO know what they are talking about. It's their job. I used to work at EB and we prided ourselves on knowing as much as we could about the industry. When were things coming out? Who canceled a release and why? Will there be enough Xbox 360's for release day? What types of gameplay are in what game? Our ability to know our subject is what seperated our store from the Gamestop's of the world. And our customers were very loyal because of it.
              Yes, some stores *cough* GameStop *cough* do have incompetent help. It's unavoidable. Much like Walmart, sooner or later you are going to be stuck hiring the bottom of the barrel.
              However, the employees that you met, were you nice to them? Or did you treat them like sales drones? I rather suspect that if you treated them with the contempt that you show in your posting, they didn't want to talk to you.
              On further thought, I rather suspect that there is at least one GameStop store out there that isn't staffed by rejects from the local literacy campaign.
              While I have moved on from the not so glorious world of retail game sales, I felt it appropriate to provide an alternate view.

      --
      Slowly and surely the Linux crept up on the Nintendo
  2. eBay scalpers? by tuxedobob · · Score: 1

    I'm wondering how much you could get for one you buy via walk-in at Target or Wal-Mart. Is the Xbox 360 the new Beanie Baby?

    1. Re:eBay scalpers? by StingRay02 · · Score: 1

      Where I live, getting one on walk-in will be extremely difficult, as well. The Wal-Mart I used to work for is getting eight. One EB apparently took 200 pre-orders and is getting 14. I don't know how many the other Wal-Mart or Target in town are getting, but with numbers like that, I wouldn't hold my breath. Also, of the 8 that are coming, only two are the deluxe package. Six are the $300 basic package.

    2. Re:eBay scalpers? by ElleyKitten · · Score: 1

      >>One EB apparently took 200 pre-orders and is getting 14.

      That is why I don't preorder stuff. You give them your money, and *maybe* they'll have it in when they're supposed to.

      --
      "What is Internet Explorer 7? Are you saying we can't access the normal internet?" - I love tech support. Really.
    3. Re:eBay scalpers? by crazed · · Score: 1

      Or you could give them no money and have 0 chance to get it on launch... It's one thing to say that about games. If you preorder a game, you are 99% guaranteed to get that game on or before the official day of release. It is another thing to say that about a system who's manufacturer is delibrately limiting the supply of their system. Pre-ordering is a smart thing to do. Go ahead, take your chance at a Wal-Mart or Best Buy. Set up a tent and waste your time. Chances are that 100 other people have the same idea as you. And if you do happen to get one at a competitor, fine, come back and get your money back or pick up a game. It's no loss to you or us - we have no problem selling systems. In re: to the GP, my store is a medium traffic stripmall store with a sister store only 1.5 miles down the road at the mall. We have 115 preorders for the $400 SKU, 13 the first day. I'm not sure about the core system, but nobody really wants that anyway.

  3. So? by Knara · · Score: 1

    As has been said by many people, this is really only a problem for people who, for some odd reason, desperately *need* to have a new videogame system. If it was cancer drugs, this'd be a problem. Since it's a console system, I really gotta ask, "what's the big deal?"

    1. Re:So? by RevAaron · · Score: 1

      As far as the capitalist market economy is concerned, there really isn't a difference between cancer drugs and Xboxes. People would make a big stink if Roche or some pharm company created artificial shortages to hype-up their cancer drug, to bring it more into the papers, and for good reason. People's lives could depend on the drug. Supply vs demand- how many people want to go out and buy cancer drugs vs the screaming throngs of suburbanite kids with daddy's money just waiting to go out and score an Xbox 360?

      --

      Working toward a usable PDA environment in the spirit of Newton OS: Dynapad
    2. Re:So? by bigman2003 · · Score: 1

      I need one...

      Because I'm tired of the old one.

      And...I have more money than time. So if I can BUY a better video game experience, I'll do it.

      --
      No reason to lie.
  4. Shortages. by Rod+Beauvex · · Score: 0

    *laughs* Doesn't saying over and over and over that there will be mass shortage of Xbox 360's pretty much give away the fact it's a staged shortage? I lawls!

  5. Rush Job. by Brantano · · Score: 3, Funny

    Not enough consoles to keep up with demand...check
    Lie and say your doing it on purpose, only shipping a certain amount to each business...check
    Give developers only 3 months to work on finished dev kits..check
    Have most of the major launch titles pushed back out of the launch list...check
    Have most of your games look hardly next gen on a normal tv...check
    Have a game that cannot even reach 30fps at 720p and must upscale...check
    Make ebgames/gamestop screw over most of your fans...check

    Make your new incredibly powerfull console look like a rush job...priceless

    1. Re:Rush Job. by Guppy06 · · Score: 3, Funny

      Perhaps we should stop comparing this to the Dreamcast and start comparing it to the Saturn.

    2. Re:Rush Job. by BigDork1001 · · Score: 0, Redundant
      Perhaps we should stop comparing this to the Dreamcast and start comparing it to the Saturn.

      I think we should be comparing less to Saturn it more to what comes from Uranus.

      --
      "Armed forces abroad are of little value unless there is prudent counsel at home" - Cicero
    3. Re:Rush Job. by Brantano · · Score: 0

      That made no sense...good try though.

    4. Re:Rush Job. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Microsfot is releasing a new system in USA, Europe, and Japan, all nearly at the same time. This has never been attempted before. and games? Microsoft is doing better than I have seen. Name 1 game console that had 15-20 games due to come out in a 3 month period. None. ever. Rush job? More like They have innitiative and they are going to devastate Sony's precious Console market. Why do you think Sony switched to try to pick on Nintendo again in the hand-held market. But hand-held gamers are mostly kids, and kids know they want good games. Mario Kart and stuff. But yea they will do OK here even with 30 minute battery life. Microsoft has got another another manufacturing plant to make more x360's, and they have repeatedly said that they would pump them out as fast as they can. How in the world do you think they would have enough units? We usually have to wait about a year after Japanese game systems are released before they have enough for USA to get any. So good luck holding out for you PoS3 it wont be in japan for a year and wont be in USA for about 2 years from today And why do you always assume MS is lying? WTF I have never seen any proof that microsoft has lied about anything. In fact their practices have been nothing but the real deal--Which is absolutely the opposite of Sony! Sony are so honest? HAHAAHA my spleen is falling out. Alot of you guys are Tools. Do you even read the newslines? Even the guys that know the truth about Sony aren't saying anything becuase they are Sony soldiers too! yea they will say anything to get you to wait for their PoS3, and right now Sony is shitting their pants rushing, like OMGWTF and from what I hear it won't see stores untill 2008. Their PS2 is stil selling well, they are not in a position to release a new console anytime soon. Wait and wait, and cry when u find out the truth. The 360 is the better choice. And it's fucking eating you Sony fans alive. Sure the PS3 will be good, but in many ways it will NOT be as good. By the time it comes out 2 years from now I can start saving for an Xbox520. And OUCH what a pricetag. And have fun buying new games. Even more expensive. ooo and.. Say goodbye to renting and selling your used ones. You guys are serious fools. In 2 years, I will come back and I can't wait to hear you same guys on here talking about how the PS3 is good, but Knowing inside that you just got robbed. $ony sells HYPE, and I don't know how much that PS1 must have pu$$- whipped you good. IF you weren't such Sony tools, you wouldn't even be here talking about Xbox. I mean if you don't want an Xbox360 then WTF are you here for? HAHA go to the PS3 forums. Oh thats right they don't exsist.

    5. Re:Rush Job. by Prophet+of+Nixon · · Score: 1

      Out of curiosity (so I can avoid it in April, if there are enough other games to convince me to get one of these), which game can't hit 30 fps at 720p?

    6. Re:Rush Job. by Starsmore · · Score: 1
      Can I please buy some punctuation? Please? Pretty please?

      The eyes! They bleed!

      --
      "If Common Sense was so common, it wouldn't be such a valued trait."
  6. Where did 'April' come from? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    I could pull a date out of my ass, too. I don't think I'll be trusting the word of 'some GameStop clerk' until I hear something coming from something resembling an official channel.

  7. M$ pwnz /. by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Congrats Zonks, i didna think it would happen, but it is clear /. has finaly sold the soul of at least the games section to microsoft.

  8. Ah, M$... by Landshark17 · · Score: 1

    One of two things is happening here:

    1) Microsoft deliberately sent out limited units so that they could get media attention for selling out everywhere on the first day.

    OR...

    2) Microsoft dropped the ball and actually didn't make enough, resulting in the shortage.

    Knowing M$, the former seems far more likely than the latter.

    --
    This sig is false.
    1. Re:Ah, M$... by mrgreen4242 · · Score: 1
      I actually think it is a combination of both of those... here's my theory: MS wanted to launch significantly ahead of the rest, but they also wanted to have a machine that will compete with systems that will be out nearly a full year after them. So, they need tomorrows console at todays prices. My theory goes that MS built what is a $500+ machine right now, on the expectation that it will be a ~$400 machine in 6 months. They are selling them at a significant loss right now, just to get them into consumer hands. They need to limit the total number of systems they ell for a little while to keep overall losses down. Once they go from taking over $100 loss on each system to under $50 they will manage to "overcome the manufacturing issue" that have been creating the shortage.

      This way they get the best of both worlds. They are the first to market, they have a competitive console, they got a ton of good publicity for free (must have holiday gift shortage of the year), AND they manage to not give away TOO much money until they can get production costs down.

    2. Re:Ah, M$... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be stupid. They will build an image of "overpriced last year console that nobody bought" if they follow your strategy.

      They cannot afford selling less than PS2 current numbers, or they will be painted as a failure. And sony will have plenty of time to get the PS3 right, and cheaper to manufacture than the xbox360.

      I believe they want the shortage for marketing reasons. The pretend that it will last until april, so xbox360 is the "special present" for christmas. And there will be plenty of them avalaible then.

    3. Re:Ah, M$... by ShibaInu · · Score: 1

      While MS may take a significant loss on each console, they stil want to sell as many as possible. Think about it - they lose money on the console but make it back on the games. If you want the games to sell, you need to have plenty of consoles out there, or the games aren't going to move. Say what you will about MS and their hype machine, but the NEED to sell lots of 360s.

  9. astroturf! by will · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Could this be any more blatant a puff?

    Some tousled corporate parasite is right now celebrating his ability to generate authentic grassroots excitement in a tailored halo demographic that combines youthshare with techster credibility and so cements the brand in the minds of 20something pre-life-crisis shoppers as both a technology leader and a style marker.

    What they don't realise is that this is slashdot on a saturday night and all he's getting is six year old kernel hackers and grumpy old toads like me, who are not only incapable of getting excited about yet another sucker gadget, they're also the least likely consumer role models in the world.

    They can make as many xboxes as they want, and they will.

    I hope he trips over the coffee table and gets a rolled up 20 lodged in his brain :)

  10. Internet Journalism by Blakey+Rat · · Score: 3, Insightful

    One short-tempered clerk at a Gamestop in New York estimated that Xbox 360 units will not be available for walk-in customers until April. That's right, April.

    Oh, well, if a grumpy clerk at Gamestop says it, IT MUST BE TRUE!!!!!

    --
    Comment of the year
    1. Re:Internet Journalism by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Well I, for one, agree with him. I totally know this guy, see, and he told me that the XBox360 was never real at all, that all the demo stations are really fake shiny boxes with computers rigged up behind them.

  11. So what... by natedog44 · · Score: 0

    ... there won't be any good games for it until then anyways.

    1. Re:So what... by Chosen+Reject · · Score: 2, Funny
      there won't be any good games for it until then anyways.

      You must be on the inside! How did you find out that was when Halo 3 would be released?

      --
      Stop Global Warming!
      Just say no to irreversible processes!
    2. Re:So what... by natedog44 · · Score: 0

      Please don't reveal my secret identity ;)

      BTW love the signature!! =D

    3. Re:So what... by -kertrats- · · Score: 1

      Well, they already announced that they wouldnt make the Playstation 3 release date like they wanted to (as per Bill Gates' comment in Time several months ago), so that's a June release date that they missed. It certainly wont make it in April.

      --
      The Braying and Neighing of Barnyard Animals Follows.
    4. Re:So what... by HTH+NE1 · · Score: 1

      so that's a June release date that they missed. It certainly won't make it in April.

      BillG: What rhymes with June?

      SteveB: No it doesn't.

      BillG: Bah! I'll make it April.

      --
      Oh, say does that Star-Spangled Banner entwine / The myrtle of Venus with Bacchus's vine?
  12. Would you prefer they waited? by Xugumad · · Score: 1

    If Microsoft had announced XBox 360 availability from April 2006, would that have been better? Okay, so there would have been more time to develop games, that's good, but personally I'd rather be able to get an XBox 360 not too long after launch, because I bothered to pre-order, than have that warm fuzzy feeling that absolutely anyone can go and buy an XBox 360 at launch.

  13. needs its own section by Gogo0 · · Score: 2, Insightful

    xboxmarketing.slashdot.org

  14. Oh noes! Wait, I mean... by Tink2000 · · Score: 1

    This works perfectly with my plans anyway. I would rather save up my money for Christmas gifts now and splurge the income tax refund check then (nothing better than having the US taxpayers subsidise my gaming habit). Too, I suspect there'll be more backwards compatibility issues dealt with by then. (Yes, I know; why whine about BC when I have an xbox already? Because my xbox has suffered mightily at my hands these last few years [not to mention my damn roommate's cat fur floating up all over the place] and is very much so going on the fritz very soon, soon enough that I went ahead and bought a cheap $30 dvd player to get me through till x360 funds come in.)

    So really, by the time I get ready to buy, there'll be more nextgen games, probably better BC, and maybe even a price drop (because really, I'm looking more at next summer than next spring).

    --
    Why do I M2 everything negatively?
    1. Re:Oh noes! Wait, I mean... by HarvardAce · · Score: 1
      splurge the income tax refund check then (nothing better than having the US taxpayers subsidise my gaming habit).

      I'd hate to rain on your parade, but you do realize that the money you get back as an income tax refund was your money to begin with, right? It's not the US taxpayers' money, it's one US taxpayer's money (i.e. yours).

      Not only that, but you're also giving the government a no-interest loan in the amount that you overpaid...if you really like the idea of having money around April, why not just put some money into a savings account every paycheck and then take it out in April...that way you at least have earned some interest on it.

      --
      Note to self: Stop putting jokes in my insightful comments so I can get something other than +1 Funny!
    2. Re:Oh noes! Wait, I mean... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      The fact is that most americans don't have the disipline to do this. With your interest rates still under 1%, the return isn't much either. You would be much better off taking that monthly amount and paying down the credit card balance that most you usians have.

    3. Re:Oh noes! Wait, I mean... by Tink2000 · · Score: 1

      Bzzt. Since I'm a single dad, I get way way way more back than I put in.

      --
      Why do I M2 everything negatively?
    4. Re:Oh noes! Wait, I mean... by The+GooMan · · Score: 1

      Congrats, I hope you enjoy your new console that I'm helping paying for.

    5. Re:Oh noes! Wait, I mean... by Tink2000 · · Score: 1

      See gp, and thanks!

      --
      Why do I M2 everything negatively?
  15. Apple left IBM for a reason by Bruha · · Score: 1

    And processor availability was one of them. I'm sure M$ is making their own shortage, but I can only wonder if it's really a IBM fab capacity issue.

    1. Re:Apple left IBM for a reason by aliquis · · Score: 1

      Apple MADE the low availability themself, of course IBM would have made loads of cpus for Apple if they wanted to have them. But obviously Apple only took the risk for a few but still wanted to be able to have more very fast if needed....

  16. You know what I hope? by Headcase88 · · Score: 0, Flamebait

    I hope Microsoft chokes on their bullshit. I hope enough people are smart enough to say "this is obviously artificial shortage, and I don't care about your console any more because of it".

    But what I hope more than anything else (about this issue of course), is that local news stations don't report the shortage. Oh God, I can hear it now...

    *female voice* "...but if you want to get your kid the hottest video game console this Christmas, you might have trouble finding one..." ARGGHHGHGHGH!

    --
    "When the atomic bomb goes off there's devastation...but when the atomic bong goes off there's celebraaaaation!"
  17. Woo Hoo! by indytx · · Score: 2, Funny

    Just in time for my income tax rebate!

    --
    Make love, not reality television.
  18. GameStop by tprime · · Score: 3, Funny

    One short-tempered clerk at a Gamestop in New York estimated that Xbox 360 units will not be available for walk-in customers until April


    I've had folks at GameStop tell me that the PS3 might still make s "surprise" arrival by the end of this year. I am certain they all have their finger on the pulse of gaming.....

    --
    http://www.tomandemily.com
    1. Re:GameStop by PhoenixOne · · Score: 1

      >"I've had folks at GameStop tell me that the PS3 might still make s "surprise" arrival by the end of this year.
      >
      IGN Reporter: "PS3 may ship before XMas! I got the word from Angry Bob at GameStop, and confirmation from tprime on Slashdot!"

      --
      Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
  19. Regardless by shoptroll · · Score: 1

    Even if this is an artificial shortage... what happened to there being a global launch? If you can afford to launch world-wide, you ought to be able to get enough units in stores.

    The PS2 shortage was due to the excitement of the system. Sony had dominated over Nintendo in the previous generation. Everyone wanted the next thing from Sony. There was no possible way for them to satisfy demand.

    For XBox being number 2 or 3 (depending on who you ask and where) in the rankings, there is no reason for there to be a shortage like this. I call bs on the marketing departments.

    Granted it's going to work. The fanboys are probably all up in arms saying the system will ownz0r because no one can get one.

    --
    Insert Sig Here
  20. Yes, Microsoft clearly couldn't meet demand... by Snowspinner · · Score: 1

    Yes. This is clearly because Microsoft couldn't meet demand. After all, it's not as though they're one of the richest corporations in the world. It's hard for them to do a coordinated launch of hardware like this - they just don't have the money to mass produce.

    In seriousness, I have zero doubt that the 360 is going to be in more stock than they're hyping. They've predicted 3 million sales in the first 90 days. With a Christmas season, figure 2.5 million of those have to be in December. Which gives you an idea of how much they need to ship in December. I expect a lot of XBoxes to come in around 12/18.

    --
    Philip Sandifer's academic website
  21. That's not the point... by PhoenixOne · · Score: 1
    The point is Microsoft is banking in part on the fact that they are first. If most people can't buy before Sony or Nintendo goes to market, they lose this advantage (or worse, they become "last year's" console).

    Oh, and it isn't all about you. Just so you know. ;)

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    Spell cheek you've failed me four the last thyme!
  22. Not so surprising by supabeast! · · Score: 1

    "One short-tempered clerk at a Gamestop in New York estimated that Xbox 360 units will not be available for walk-in customers until April. That's right, April."

    It took me six months to get my hands on a Playstation 2 due to similar "shortages." Of course, it only took me another ten minutes to realize that this was because artificial shortages are a great way to cover up a system that has almost no worthwhile games available at the launch, or any time soon afterward.

  23. M$ by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0
    M$

    Stop.

  24. If it's going to be as late as April... by RealmRPGer · · Score: 1

    ...People who are interested in the PS3 will probably decide to wait, as it's seeming that Sony is leaning towards a late spring/summer release. Why wait five months when if you wait seven you can get a machine that's more powerful and can play those next-generation discs?

  25. Numbers by LordVader717 · · Score: 0, Redundant

    Do we actually get any numbers? How many Units will the stores get, how many have been preorderd, what is to be expected?
    As long as I don't have any real numbers, I'll just take it as artificial hype.

  26. Underproducing as compensation for lack of demand by SgtChaireBourne · · Score: 1
    It's one thing to create a buzz with a brief period of scarcity. It's another thing to extend it so long that you eat up all of your much touted lead time on the competition.
    One could make a case for either option. However, until I see more evidence I'm interpreting as trying to spin lack of demand into buzz. Losing lead time to competition doesn't tell me anything. Look at how delayed W95 was and Vista still is, just to name two of many.

    My own observations are that since 2002, I've had to go past shops selling consoles at least once a week. The thing I have noticed is that no matter how much 'facing' MS drones do with their products and machines, the queue and crowd around the PlayStation is always largest. Nintendo is next and then the MS attempt is usually vacant. Again, purely anecdotally, I inquired the last two years towards Christmas regarding the availability of games for the three consoles (the first time I was actually considering buying, the second time I was merely curious): both times GameCube and PlayStation games sold out early, MS' were available even after the holiday.

    The whole marketing gimmick this time around seems to be to try to use an artificial scarcity to create the illusion of demand. The MS PR firm is marketing Chairman Gates the same way: limiting access to him for the press and at other PR functions like hype sessions at universities.

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    Beta is broken and the link to classic doesn't work. Stop wasting our time or there won't be anybody left here.
  27. You can pre-order them, of course by JamaisVu · · Score: 1

    Which I did from games-addiction.com. I'm sure there are tons of other retailers that will let you pre-order them, and with more orders they can probably get priority from the distributors.

    Just my 2 cents.

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    "When the solution is simple, God is answering." -- Albert Einstein