I'll admit it. I drove about an hour and a half round trip last night trying to find an Xbox 360. Chef wanted nothing else for Christmas and we'd both contributed appropriate funds in preparation for this day. However, it really took only one phone call to realize we were screwed.
Chef called the Wal-Mart, which he had called on several prior occasions to check on Xbox 360 procedures. They assured it was first come, first served, but that we'd "better get here quick." So we hopped in the car and headed out there only to find that they had given out numbers a mere minutes before we arrived. All gone.
Frantic in our search, we started calling all Wal-Marts, Circuit Citys and Best Buys we could. Even in surrounding towns they were sold out before the Xbox 360 went on sale. Our only hope at that point was a Wal-Mart in a small town 45 minutes away. They said they'd put out chairs corresponding to the amount of stock they had and there were three empty seats. Half-way there, I had Chef call again: two empty seats left. Of course, we get there, they're full and I feel crappy because I didn't have any other Christmas ideas for him.
Come to find out that Microsoft is being a bitch. Stores presold more consoles than Microsoft shipped. That's there fault. But is it?
Despite all the claims, we all know that Microsoft is doing this on purpose. They overpublicized the product (hello...been to msn lately?) they knew they weren't going to have enough of. Why would they do that? Because lines and people camping out for your product looks good, especially since the last time your company got hyped it was for a monopoly trial or for Windows XP that was a big disappointment.
Besides, the good publicity does more than help immediate sales. Even Microsoft admits that the last Xbox had a great launch and then sales dwindled more over time than expected. So to solve that this time around they've created the sarcity scare. Consumer will line up this time and if they miss out, they'll pre-order the next time...and the time after that....and the time after that. Not only is the Xbox 360 the hottest thing to get, it's the hardest thing to get. Scarcity and status in one fowl swoop.
Okay, don't believe me. Xbox has sold about 32 million Xboxes since its launch in about 2000. So Xbox consoles sell at about 6 million consoles per year. Say only a third of that is US sales: that's about 2 million consoles. One would guess that more than one million of those consoles are sold at Christmas time. And that's without much hype.
So, why did the US only get an estimated 400,000-700,000 consoles for the NEW Xbox 360 this Christmas season. Poor planning? I don't think so.
So, screw you, Bill Gates, I'm going home...and without an Xbox 360. So suck it.
1 comment:
This reminds me of the year that my Grandmother waited in line at the local K Mart so that I would get a pound puppy for Christmas. She practically had to beat a woman who tried to cut in front of her. The image of that was almost as great as the pound puppy itself.
Oh, how times have not changed. The price of the stuffed animal os $16- the XBox is, what, $400?
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