More Xbox 360's on the way!

[Dimmona]

Second shipment has already been sent... good luck all!

USA Today article

[The_Man]

Not sure how true that is.  From some of the forums I've been visiting, people are being told that there may not be any systems available until after Christmas.  I know one guy that was told at a Best Buy yesterday that they would not have anymore in until January.  Some EBs are telling people the same thing.

If any systems do surface this week, I doubt they will be nothing more than a blip on the radar.

[Hetz]

Not sure how true that is.  From some of the forums I've been visiting, people are being told that there may not be any systems available until after Christmas.  I know one guy that was told at a Best Buy yesterday that they would not have anymore in until January.  Some EBs are telling people the same thing.

If any systems do surface this week, I doubt they will be nothing more than a blip on the radar.

That is the unimformed retail peons making stuff up so people stop bugging them.

Microsoft has stated time and again there will be weekly shipments. Listen to Major Nelson's podcast for this week and he states emphatically that there will be shipments every single week.

[adamsappel]

While I do think that retailers will see modest new inventory, what else is Microsoft going to say, "Nope, sorry, we screwed the pooch on this launch, spend your Christmas money on something else"? I imagine there's many a disappointed gamer who's going to stay disappointed until the new year.

[Thin_J]

Yeah, the "no 360's till next year" crap is a lot of rumor that's just been spread around from one place to another.

[Soulchilde]

Hey Dimmona if you maintain that HDTV supported games list in your sig you need to update it with the 360 games :p

[ericb]

Every EB I've been in has said no 360s available until Jan...for the walk in customer.  They're all expecting shipments (EB says 2 over the next 2 weeks) but they are all going to their pre-order fulfillments.

[Thin_J]

Every EB I've been in has said no 360s available until Jan...for the walk in customer.  They're all expecting shipments (EB says 2 over the next 2 weeks) but they are all going to their pre-order fulfillments.

That doesn't surprise me. But it's not Microsoft's fault EB got retarded and pre-sold huge numbers of systems before they had official allocation numbers from Microsoft.

It just means you want to check out Best Buy and other stores that didn't do pre-sells for the system.

[The_Man]

Not sure how true that is.  From some of the forums I've been visiting, people are being told that there may not be any systems available until after Christmas.  I know one guy that was told at a Best Buy yesterday that they would not have anymore in until January.  Some EBs are telling people the same thing.

If any systems do surface this week, I doubt they will be nothing more than a blip on the radar.

That is the unimformed retail peons making stuff up so people stop bugging them.

Microsoft has stated time and again there will be weekly shipments. Listen to Major Nelson's podcast for this week and he states emphatically that there will be shipments every single week.

Well I agree it's probably the company line that they've been told to use to keep people from getting their hopes up.

I don't doubt there will be shipments every week, as there should be.  I'm just saying that regardless of how many ship, you're not just going to walk in a store and see a stack of them sitting there waiting for someone to buy them.  At this point for someone to get one, they pretty much are going to have to have one preordered or they are going to have to know someone who gives them a call and tips them off.  I doubt any systems will make it out of the back room of any retailer before they're spoken for.

[adamsappel]

But it's not Microsoft's fault EB got retarded and pre-sold huge numbers of systems before they had official allocation numbers from Microsoft.

Gamestop and EB certainly oversold their pre-orders, but they didn't do it in a vacuum. The first communication from Microsoft was not, "You're going to be receiving 6-10 systems." It's easy for those of us with consoles to think it's all been good, but Microsoft screwed up, someway, somehow.

[The_Man]

Here's a site someone put together to keep track of who has them in stock.  Seems to be updated hourly.

http://xbox360tracker.com/

[Graham]

I'm just saying that regardless of how many ship, you're not just going to walk in a store and see a stack of them sitting there waiting for someone to buy them.

At one time you could have said the same thing about Tickle Me Elmo dolls.

[CrayolaSmoker]

Listen to Major Nelson's podcast for this week and he states emphatically that there will be shipments every single week.

Is that the one where Dr. Bellows is all ready to hang Majors Nelson and Healey for the truth of the Xbox360's launch, but Barbara Eden nods her head and turns him into a duck before he can?  That episodes was frickin' HILARIOUS!

[msduncan]

This has given me hope.    Thanks everyone and keep the information flowing!

[Devil]

Guys - If I stumble across one, I'd be happy to help one of you out.

PM me.

[Purge]

devil check out my sig for a list of people waiting for one.

[Devil]

Sorry Purge - Missed that whole thing!! I suck.

[Captain Caveman]

This article says more will be on the shelves Friday.

After actually reading the article instead of just the headline, I'm decidedly less optimistic. It doesn't cite anything more specific than the same old "by the end of the week" quote I've seen 10 times over the past few days.

It also talks about Microsoft attempting to avoid shortages like what happened with the PSP. There were no shortages with the PSP, which makes me think this whole article could be bunk.

Still, I'll be on the lookout Friday morning.

[Andrew Mallon]

It also talks about Microsoft attempting to avoid shortages like what happened with the PSP. There were no shortages with the PSP, which makes me think this whole article could be bunk.

The article's talking about the PSP's European launch. It was very hard to find PSPs after launch day in Europe.

[Captain Caveman]

It also talks about Microsoft attempting to avoid shortages like what happened with the PSP. There were no shortages with the PSP, which makes me think this whole article could be bunk.

The article's talking about the PSP's European launch. It was very hard to find PSPs after launch day in Europe.

Reading skills my good not very.  :wink:

[Hetz]

http://www.majornelson.com/

There is a lot of bad information floating around the internet, blogosphere and gaming forums so I wanted to take a moment to address them as best I can.

Replenishment: There are a couple reports of retailers saying they won’t have units for weeks or months (or worse.) Generally speaking, this is not true. We are shipping units constantly. I mentioned in my blogcast this weekend how the distribution team has secured air freight space and are flying units into the distribution channels on a regular basis. Some retailers have a backorder wait list, and might not have units that will be on shelf for some time, and some retailers might allocate more units to one store over another, but all stores that have placed orders are getting replenishments regularly. I have checked and have confirmed that units are on the ground and on their way to retailers this week. Those will go from our warehouses to retailer warehouses…what happens after that is up to the retailers. We are communicating with them all the time, but it is impossible for me (of all people) to know what retailers will get what shipments on what days. Once we get them into hands of retailers, it’s up to them to get them to their individual outlets. Don’t get all angry at me/J/Robbie/the Xbox team if you keep checking exactly once a week and you are not getting the answer you want. Let’s all have a dose of reality here.

Again, as I have said in the past, or rather what Robbie Bach the Xbox VP has said, we are on track to ship 2.75 to 3.0 million consoles in the first 90 days. In the Xbox forums and in my comments I am seeing (incorrect) theories that we are holding back inventory to keep the price inflated/keep hype going. We have shipped every console we’ve made, and we’re making more as fast as we can. The reality is that there is significantly more demand than supply, and will be for some time. It’s the year 2005 and you are gamers…you hate to wait. You don’t like to wait for load times, you don’t like to wait for your new game to come in and you certainly don’t want to wait for your new Xbox 360. You want it NOW. I can tell you without a doubt, that we are NOT holding units back, and we’re not creating hype for hype’s sake. We want you all to have a console as much as you want them. It’s significantly more complex to manufacture a hardware product like the Xbox 360 then it is to burn more CD’s of Windows if inventory gets low (as an example.)

Recall Rumor: There is no recall. Did I mention that there is no recall? That’s all there is to say. There is NO recall. It’s a rumor..period. I have personally responded to many threads on the Xbox forums trying to stop this rumor in its tracks. If you go into a retailer and hear it…feel free to (nicely) correct them. Oh, and in case you missed it…there is no recall.

Replacements: In the cases where people have a box that is experiencing problems call 1-800-4MYXBOX. The fine folks on the phone will expedite your case as quickly as possible and get you a replacement ASAP. Currently, we’re turning around replacement/repaired units very quickly - in as few as 5-7 business days. The support reps have been trained to troubleshoot your problems over the phone. I won’t go into all the details, but when a return is necessary, we overnight a prepaid box to you, which allows you to overnight your console back to us. In most cases, we troubleshoot/repair/replace your Xbox 360 in 1-2 days, and we overnight it back. We have planned for this, and we have consoles, parts, and trained employees to handle the volume.

We live in a time of instant communication (as is evident by you being able to read this moments after I hit ‘publish’) and people are tracking issues in real time. This has never been done before in the history of retail. We live in a very interesting era; I remember not having a blog, or forum to post on as I went to 7 stores each week when I lived in Connecticut as I looked for the Dreamcast VMU in 1999. After 8 weeks I finally found one. I did not have a platform like a blog or forum to complain or yell “Waaaa…..I want it now!” (to paraphrase Veruca Salt .) There was no way for me to share and exchange information with others who were trying to get their hands on one.

What I am trying to say is that keep things in perspective, relax and soon enough you’ll have an Xbox 360 in your hands and you’ll be playing all the new games, downloading the cool stuff from marketplace and all will be well. For those who have been patient and have kept their cool…thanks. Trust me when I say we want you to have one as much has you want one.

[Starshifter]

There were no shortages with the PSP...

I beg to differ.  I spent several weeks here in the good old northeast trying to get a PSP for my son.  Toys R Us, Gamestop, EB, Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon etc.  Each one kept telling me that they didn't know when they would be getting in more shipments.  Frustrating yes, but par for the course.

I didn't preorder the PSP because I had zero interest in one but my son really wanted one so I simply went out to see if I could land one.  It was a little over a month after I started looking that I finally got one.

[Hetz]

Yeah, it seemed that in some parts of the country there WAS a shortage of PSP's at launch. In the midwest though, there were a ton of them at my Best Buy the day after launch....but it wasn't anywhere naer as popular as the 360. There were no lines or anything for the system on launch day.

[CrayolaSmoker]

We are shipping units constantly.  ...all stores that have placed orders are getting replenishments regularly.

Technically speaking, one new box every two weeks is "regularly."

Again, as I have said in the past, or rather what Robbie Bach the Xbox VP has said, we are on track to ship 2.75 to 3.0 million consoles in the first 90 days.

The first 90 days does precisely bupkis for the Christmas Holiday season.  The continual harping of the "90 days" statistic, instead of giving any solid numbers of the first month's totals, doesn't do anything to dissuade the thinking that units won't be on the shelves in any substantial quantitiy until January or February.  Which, again, does NOTHING to help the Christmas Holiday season.  A time when folks are generally less frugal about blowing $500+ for a shiny new video game system.  January and February are traditionally the months that credit card bills come due.  It's not exactly the ideal time to suddenly have units on store shelves...

It’s the year 2005 and you are gamers…you hate to wait. You don’t like to wait for load times, you don’t like to wait for your new game to come in and you certainly don’t want to wait for your new Xbox 360. You want it NOW.

What a condescending s.o.b.

[Arkon]

We are shipping units constantly.  ...all stores that have placed orders are getting replenishments regularly.

Technically speaking, one new box every two weeks is "regularly."

Again, as I have said in the past, or rather what Robbie Bach the Xbox VP has said, we are on track to ship 2.75 to 3.0 million consoles in the first 90 days.

The first 90 days does precisely bupkis for the Christmas Holiday season.  The continual harping of the "90 days" statistic, instead of giving any solid numbers of the first month's totals, doesn't do anything to dissuade the thinking that units won't be on the shelves in any substantial quantitiy until January or February.  Which, again, does NOTHING to help the Christmas Holiday season.  A time when folks are generally less frugal about blowing $500+ for a shiny new video game system.  January and February are traditionally the months that credit card bills come due.  It's not exactly the ideal time to suddenly have units on store shelves...

It’s the year 2005 and you are gamers…you hate to wait. You don’t like to wait for load times, you don’t like to wait for your new game to come in and you certainly don’t want to wait for your new Xbox 360. You want it NOW.

What a condescending s.o.b.

As far as him being condescending... I think he is spot on.  The outrage I have seen over a game being delayed by mearly a day due to shipping problems certainly makes his statement seem very accurate to me.

[ericb]

There were no shortages with the PSP...

I beg to differ.  I spent several weeks here in the good old northeast trying to get a PSP for my son.  Toys R Us, Gamestop, EB, Best Buy, Circuit City, Amazon etc.  Each one kept telling me that they didn't know when they would be getting in more shipments.  Frustrating yes, but par for the course.

I didn't preorder the PSP because I had zero interest in one but my son really wanted one so I simply went out to see if I could land one.  It was a little over a month after I started looking that I finally got one.

Yes...it was defintely region related.  I know here in NC I never saw a shortage of PSPs.  Every store I went in had them from launch day on and most stores had stacks of them.  

You know...I remember the PS2 launch being like this but not the initial Xbox launch.  I am still looking for a 360 Premium too and I will be checking tomorrow.

[kathode]

What a condescending s.o.b.

You enjoy waiting?  I completely agree with him.  Gamers are an impatient boorish lot

[Arkon]

What a condescending s.o.b.

You enjoy waiting?  I completely agree with him.  Gamers are an impatient boorish lot

Especially Hetz when it comes to anything Elder Scrolls related, wouldn't you say Kathode?


   

[Bullwinkle]

I've been annoyingly calling my local Best Buy fairly regularly (maybe once a day), and it's been the same response, basically, "Check back with us, but we're not expecting anything until a couple of weeks before Christmas" UNTIL TODAY.  I called and asked, as usual, if they were expecting 360s in their shipment.  I wish I'd recorded the guy's response.  He hemmed and hawed and said (paraphrasing, of course), "Um, well, that is, we don't know when anything will be going to maybe coming, the store is isn't we, I mean, they haven't told us anything specific."  I called another BB, and got sort of the same response (less hemming and hawing, though).  The first guy told me to, get this, check the website for availability 'cause they'd know if it's in stores first.  The second guy told me to call tomorrow.

Could all be just a change in corporate phone strategy, or it could mean something's up...

[msduncan]

Went by BB again today, and was told:

"we MAY get a shipment before Christmas"

Yesterday it was:

"we aren't getting any until next year"

[Dimmona]

lol, I went to both Target and Best Buy this morning when they opened, and at both places they claimed that not only have they not received any new shipments but their SoCal warehouses were completely empty as well - meaning that even if MS had sent out a new shipment the way they claimed they had, it would reach stores for at least another week and a half.

Yup, still a debacle

[Bullwinkle]

Interesting, so maybe what's up is that the news is bad, and they're trying to spin it somehow.  Or I just got an idiot on the phone.

[Zarkon]

I'll note that the Premium 360 is listed as 'Deleted' in Wal-Mart's system.  Which could mean anything, honestly.

[Bullwinkle]

I'm still getting "Out of Stock" for the Premium on Wal-Mart.

[Captain Caveman]

If stores do get 360s for tomorrow, when do you think they would be put on the shelves? I'm thinking about swinging by Target when it opens at 8am, but I'm wondering if they wouldn't stock them until later in the day.

[Sarkus]

Technically speaking, one new box every two weeks is "regularly."

Without revealing too much GameStop sent out an internal memo about 360's that revealed how many they expected from MS this week.  Let's just say it's a tiny number.  So, while MS may be shipping regularly, the numbers are very small.  Mid-December seems like when we might see more.  

My guess is that MS shipped everything they had for the US launch minus some stock that got held back for Japan and Europe and that the next few weeks of production is all going to those two launches.  The result is very limited quantities for North America until after the other launches and then it will depend on how they allocate production from then on between the three markets.  

Also, when you talk about 3 million shipped in the next 90 days (although I'd point out they are now mentioning 2.7 million in some releases instead) that works out to about 1 million in the first month.  Even if North America got half of that, it's still only 500,000 by Christmas of which 300,000 - 400,000 have already shipped. Those are very small numbers for a system launch.

[msduncan]

Plus I was told by Ebgames that any systems shipping would show up in their system 24 to 48 hours before they receive them in-store.    Apparently as of this afternoon there were no such systems showing up in their computer system.

[Bullwinkle]

But...I want one.

[Dimmona]

If stores do get 360s for tomorrow, when do you think they would be put on the shelves? I'm thinking about swinging by Target when it opens at 8am, but I'm wondering if they wouldn't stock them until later in the day.

Most Best Buy and Targets get new shipments usually on Tues and Thursdays, and I believe Toys R Us is like Tues and Friday or something like that.  Tuesday is when new DVDs are released so often that's when electronics stores time their shipements.  

You might want to check around tomorrow, but otherwise I'm guessing the earliest you'll find one is next Tuesday.

[CrayolaSmoker]

Also, when you talk about 3 million shipped in the next 90 days (although I'd point out they are now mentioning 2.7 million in some releases instead) that works out to about 1 million in the first month.

That's only if you assume equal distribution among the 90 days.  For all we know, Microsoft has 500,000 slated for December, with 1 million and 1.5 million for January and February as added manufacturing capacity comes online.  Yes, those numbers are exagerrated, but the point still stands.

Microsoft has been far too vague for any of us to know what's going on.  Honestly, I'm not even sure they do.