The Xbox Series X flew off the shelves in late September when pre-orders went live — and the next-gen Microsoft console didn't even have a real shelf to sit on yet. The Series X is poised for a November release, but if you're planning on purchasing it at launch, good luck!
On the Dropped Frames podcast, Head of Xbox Phil Spencer said that while day-one units are stocked at big-name retailers, demand will outweigh supply "for a few months."
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Xbox Series X: Snagging a console on launch day will be a hassle
"We know what our supply will look like for the rest of the year," Spencer said on the podcast. "We're going to have more demand than we do supply, and I'll apologize in advance to people for that."
Spencer hinted that the worldwide scramble for the Xbox Series X at launch will be similar to the pre-order pandemonium Microsoft experienced. "We were basically out in a couple of hours, which is unfortunate. I think we're going to live in that world for a few months." On the supply-chain side, Spencer revealed that the Xbox team are figuring out what they can do to get more Xbox Series X inventory.
One of the podcasters pulled Spencer's leg and asked, "Phil, did you get a PS5 pre-order? They were hard as hell to get!" The head of Xbox laughed and commiserated with Sony. "You have these pre-orders; you want it to be a positive event for the community, and obviously, it's hard."
Spencer acknowledged that he knows that a lot of people were frustrated with how Xbox handled pre-orders. "We pre-sold more consoles that day than we sold the whole year. The volume was just crazy. We had our pre-order in India and it sold out instantly."
The head of Xbox said he was on the receiving end of a lot of "angst" from people who really wanted to get their hands on the console. "I don't like having so many people who are disappointed, so that's something I've got to think about."
Spencer conceded that the gaming industry has to overhaul its current strategy of managing pre-orders. "The bots and everything else — it's not a great situation. We've been doing debriefs with all of our retailers [and asking], 'Hey are there things that we could do to make this better?'"
The Xbox Series X is set to launch on Nov. 10, so if you want to get your hands on a console, make sure to be the first person in line.
