Successful Xbox Launch Means Stock Could Be Scarce

GAME spokesperson says that the Xbox One launch will greatly surpass the 360's, but Microsoft warns of stock shortages.

Early reports of the Xbox One's launch performance are coming in, with UK retailer GAME's Chief Digital officer confirming that it will "easily surpass" the Xbox 360's - meanwhile, though, Microsoft's Phil Harrison warns that stock will be in short supply before Christmas.

GAME's Ian Chambers claims that the retailer's midnight launches were a huge success. "You could almost taste the excitement - gamers had been waiting for Xbox One for over eight years and we saw a massive turnout at the midnight openings at more than 300 GAME stores across the UK." he said in a statement issued by the retailer. "We’ve seen record pre-order numbers for the new generation consoles and looking at the initial response it's clear that sales will easily surpass that delivered at the Xbox 360 launch."
Meanwhile, though, Microsoft's Phil Harrison is not optimistic that there will be abundant Xbox One stock in the run-up to Christmas. "There will be difficulty getting stock through until Christmas but we will do everything we can to accelerate that," he said in an interview with MCV. "From a games and product point-of-view, we have a very strong line-up for the year ahead. So this is really just one day in the calendar and then tomorrow it is back to work. We have some big games to bring to market in the first quarter and beyond.
"Our job on a tactical level is to ensure we get enough supply to retailers and customers as we possibly can to meet demand, and that will be a struggle but we are doing our best."
If you didn't pick up your Xbox One last night but you still want one for Christmas, then, you might want to make contingency plans. We'll have more on the Xbox One's launch performance as news comes in.