Microsoft say Europe could see an Xbox 360 shortage
Whew! That’s a surprise, eh? Europe actually not having enough Xbox 360s? Blimey, who’d of thought it!
Well, erm… Microsoft didn’t, or so it seems. In an interview in Official UK Xbox magazine, Peter Moore has said that demand could well exceed supply leaving many would-be Xbox 360 owners with nothing this side of Christmas.
To be fair to Microsoft, the interview would have been done some time ago meaning Moore was predicting how well he thought sales would go though it is somewhat ironic that the interview comes out now when an Xbox 360 is scarcer than rocking horse poo.
It has to be said that the vast majority of retailers, both online and in the high street stopped guaranteeing pre-orders for release day as far back as October 2nd for launch day and November 2nd for before Christmas, so Microsoft must have known they were going to come up massively short of units a good while ago.
Moore is quoted as saying that Microsoft have been encouraging retailers to strike a balance between pre-orders and off-the-shelf availability, but from the research HEXUS.gaming has carried out, this is most definitely not the case. Many retailers are reporting that Xbox 360 pre-orders will take precedence over off-the-shelf purchases, with the stock for these going to pre-orders first. Some retailers have set aside stock for the shelves on launch day but, according to HEXUS.gaming sources, this stock is now being leached into the pre-order sales.
In essence, if you didn’t pre-order your Xbox 360 by the beginning of November, you’re going to have a tough time getting one before Christmas… that is unless Microsoft pull something pretty special out of the bag.
