Is there any chance of getting a 360 by Christmas?

[Uzi 9mm]

So I decided last night that I wanted a 360 again. Well, some are saying I am screwed if I didn't preorder by now. Is there any chance I can get this thing by Christmas, or am I indeed screwed?

[smokehouse]

Having a unit by Christmas is only as far away as your wallet is large. The larger your $$, the sooner you’ll get one. EBAY it up my friend!

Note the sarcasm, wait it out, you'll be happier in the long run and so will your credit card.

[davepesc]

All signs point to yes.


It would be a disaster for Microsoft were they not available.

[smokehouse]

All signs point to yes.


It would be a disaster for Microsoft were they not available.

For the most part the PS2 wasn’t available by Christmas (2000), hell, neither was the N64 (1996) and everything worked out for them. There will be units floating around but you will not be able to simply walk into any store and pick one up, I promise you that.

[Snapple]

I think people worry too much about pre-ordering. If there was a game or system I wanted close to its release date, I've always been able to find one, although sometimes it means going to more than one or two stores.

[smokehouse]

K-Mart…

I have been able to purchase more release day consoles from this store than any other. Yep, including the N64 and PS2. I simply got there at 6A.M. and the open at 8A.M. Always first in line.

I will be sitting out of all these new consoles however. I really don’t care anymore. I will eventually pick one up but no longer on launch day. Impressing my buddies simply got to expensive.

[Arkaign]

K-Mart…

I have been able to purchase more release day consoles from this store than any other. Yep, including the N64 and PS2. I simply got there at 6A.M. and the open at 8A.M. Always first in line.

I will be sitting out of all these new consoles however. I really don’t care anymore. I will eventually pick one up but no longer on launch day. Impressing my buddies simply got to expensive.

Very wisely said! Other benefits from waiting :

*Better bundles
*Newer revisions (usually more reliable)
*Better game selection
*Decide whether it's even worth buying by spending some time with it courtesy of someone who bought already.
*Get a used one perhaps (I avoid this, but with a decent warranty I guess it's alright)

[Biff_McFresh]

It shouldn't be too hard to get one on launch day. I have a Kmart, a target, and a best buy all within a mile or so from each other.

[Drexel923]

It shouldn't be too hard to get one on launch day. I have a Kmart, a target, and a best buy all within a mile or so from each other.

Exactly...just find a place that doesn't preorder and get your ass in line the night before/very early in the morning. If your one of the first in line, then you should have no problem getting a system on launch day.

[Uzi 9mm]

It shouldn't be too hard to get one on launch day. I have a Kmart, a target, and a best buy all within a mile or so from each other.

Exactly...just find a place that doesn't preorder and get your ass in line the night before/very early in the morning. If your one of the first in line, then you should have no problem getting a system on launch day.

Bleh, no launch day for me. The last time I did it was fun (PSP launch), but it wasn't worth it. It was freezing cold, and the people annoyed me. I'm just hoping I can get it by Christmas, that way relatives can get me games. ;)

[vincewy]

On launch day it'll be scarce, but after that, I'd say chances are pretty good, ie: most production slots will go to US, if you're trying to get one at K-Mart, keep in mind that most units they have will be Core Units.

I'm willing to bet that those 2nd and 3rd shipments on EB preorders wil be fullfiled by Xmas. If your area has KBToys, you should try it too, they offer bundles for holiday, during PS2 launch, they had extra bundles for sale to walkup customers right before Xmas.

[Trebuken]

I think Gamespot.com said that Microsoft was expecting to have 400,000 360 units available for launch, and that they are able to produce 50,000-100,000 a week at the plants. I imagine Microsoft will deliver on their largest orders first.

I would think you would have to camp out to get one. Maybe you know someone who works somewhere that could put one aside some way...

Just get a chair and some warm clothes and sit it out...

Can't wait to see how many people preorded it and then don't get it because the store sold it to someone else, or because they did not get there in time...

Trebuken

[EricRyan34]

Yeah I am pretty sure that you could find one somewhere without pre-ordering one :villagepeople:

[TheClapLI]

One word...Costco...I just got an email today and my store (which is located near a circuit city, best buy, kmart and wal-mart) will be getting 24 bundles for 479.99 which include the Hard Drive Edition, An Extra Controller, a special kind of battery for the controller and some Fantasy game that starts with a K...i think Kameo maybe??? They open at 10am and I've heard from old employees that on the PS2 launch they still had some left over cause no one thought to go there for it...I didn't have any intention on getting one anytime soon so I'm gonna pass on getting one and hopefully it will go to a kid or a gamer who really wants one.

[SlayerX]

Just like every other year, I won't have enough for everything I want, there'll be too many people there, they may be sold out, and I flat out don't care about the PS3, Revolution, or 360. I'll probably get one a year or two down the road, but for now, my ps2, xbox, cube, nes, snes, n64, gba, genesis will all suffice :D

[randyt7801]

Wal-Mart may be your best bet since most of them are open 24hrs.

[Arkaign]

The devil is in the details .. matters of luck, ingenuity, and information all play a hand. But never forsake the use of spies and surveillance when you want something!!

In other words, try to buddy up with whoever is in charge at your local stores ;)

[swlovinist]

Although Microsoft can make alot of units, like many before, they will make a shortage to push publicity and sales. It has worked before for others, and it will work for Microsoft. My manager who has been at Gamestop for years says that it is the smallest allocation of systems he has ever seen for a "big launch". I agree with others and go to K-mart for your system. Other forgotten chains include Shopko, in which you should have no trouble.

[Arkaign]

A limited launch has been wildly successful for a lot of systems before, as a free way of getting wild hype and free media frenzy worked up. Of course, it only really pays off when you can actually continue to deliver systems to the customers during the rich spending season.

Bottom line = getting the systems into homes, so that you can have a fat installed base to buy games/peripherals/live subscriptions.

Are they going to waste this season? I'm thinking no, there will be a shortage for the first couple of weeks, and then they'll flood us so that they can top 1 mill by the 1st.

[Anthony1]

That Costco idea is a pretty good idea. If that bundle is really $479.99, and it includes that stuff, then it's a pretty good buy. Kameo is $49.99 anyways, so you are only paying $30 more for a controller and a rechargeable battery thing. It's most likely the wired controller, but still. Not a bad deal at all. Especially considering Kameo is a definite contender for Game of the Year 2005.



Another option is Target. The vast majority of Targets open up at 8am. I heard that they will be handing out tickets at 6am. So I would advise that you go to your nearest Target about 10 minutes prior to 6am, and wait 10 minutes and see if you get a ticket. If you get a ticket, then you are golden.

The only downside, is you might get stuck with the Core system, which is really a bad buy for anybody that is going to use the 360 on a HDTV, considering you would have to shell out another $40 for the HDTV cable, and if you are going to spend $340, might as well spend $60 more and get the HDD and all the other crap too.

[Anthony1]

A limited launch has been wildly successful for a lot of systems before, as a free way of getting wild hype and free media frenzy worked up. Of course, it only really pays off when you can actually continue to deliver systems to the customers during the rich spending season.

Bottom line = getting the systems into homes, so that you can have a fat installed base to buy games/peripherals/live subscriptions.

Are they going to waste this season? I'm thinking no, there will be a shortage for the first couple of weeks, and then they'll flood us so that they can top 1 mill by the 1st.




I personally don't think they are actually doing a "planned shortage", like Nintendo did with the N64 back in 1996. I think it's more of a side effect of trying to pull off launching it in the U.S., Europe and Japan, all in the span of a few weeks. It would take a huge number of 360's to completely satisfy everybody in those 3 markets. So there will definitely be a shortage during the first 60 to 90 days of it's availability.


Now, going back to Nintendo and 1996. Nintendo did the most masterful planned shortage that I've ever seen. They were absolutely perfect with their shortage of the N64. They had a number of units on launch day to satisfy about 85 percent of the early adopters. Then in the next several weeks, they had periods of time when you couldn't find a N64 anywhere, and then a few would come in on a random day, and be snatched up by the other 15 percent of the early adopters. By the time it was getting closer to XMAS, the N64 was the hottest item around, like a Cabbage Patch phenomenon. Of course, about 4 days before XMAS, you could walk into any store and buy one. So the ultimately sold as many N64's as was humanly possible. It was a pure stroke of genius on Nintendo's part. They played the market like a harp during that launch.


They created this incredible pent up demand and this fever pitched level of excitment, causing people who normally wouldn't even buy a N64, to want one really bad. Then just a few days prior to XMAS, they flooded the market with N64's, making sure that if anybody really wanted one right before XMAS, they could get one. So they had their cake and ate it too.


If Microsoft is really trying to go with a similar strategy on this, then most likely, you will be able to walk into any store and buy a 360 with no problems a few days prior to XMAS.

I remember when the whole PS2 launch was happening, I actually thought that Sony was trying to do the same thing, except there weren't any PS2's to be found anywhere, and none magically appeared just a few days prior to Xmas. So it was actually a legitimate shortage on their part.

[gamedude369]

let's see, there's,

sears, sam's club, wal-mart-target-circuit city-bestbuy-
shopko-k-mart-toys r us-radio shack and god knows what else. preordering is for fools. i've preordered shit before only to have my preorder sold from under me. with dilligenceanyone can find a system on release day. at 400 bucks these will not fly off the shelves. but the loner you wait towards christmas the harder they will be to find. then you'll have to wait till then end of january. 8-)

[Arkaign]

let's see, there's,

sears, sam's club, wal-mart-target-circuit city-bestbuy-
shopko-k-mart-toys r us-radio shack and god knows what else. preordering is for fools. i've preordered shit before only to have my preorder sold from under me. with dilligenceanyone can find a system on release day. at 400 bucks these will not fly off the shelves. but the loner you wait towards christmas the harder they will be to find. then you'll have to wait till then end of january. 8-)

I certainly won't be buying one, but you shouldn't underestimate the power of discretionary spending in 21st-century america. Only 400,000 are coming I heard, you can bet they will be gone in a flash.

Pre-ordering with a competent supplier is not for fools .. it can be a good way not to have to hassle with searching.

[Trebuken]

I truly believe that any initial hardware shortages are in part intentional. They want to be careful should their be defects, as has been the case with launches in the past. Also, they lose money on every system. They want to make sure that the profit from selling the games outpaces the losses from selling systems. Of course they can only produce the systems so quickly, and they backed themselves into a position of needing a holiday release.

Trebuken

[Flack]

Is there any chance of getting a 360 by Christmas?

Sure, 'cuz if I find one between launch and Christmas it's going straight to eBay.

[Kejoriv]

Is there any chance of getting a 360 by Christmas?

Sure, 'cuz if I find one between launch and Christmas it's going straight to eBay.

Thats why Im getting at least 2 ;) One to keep and one to sell. I just talked to Walmart, now I think Im buying 3.

[googlefest1]

if you look around i think youll find one -- most of the stores here in CT say there will be no way of gettign one untill 2 months after Christmas. but the smaller games stores are sayign that they will have units avaiable

[Anthony1]

A limited launch has been wildly successful for a lot of systems before, as a free way of getting wild hype and free media frenzy worked up. Of course, it only really pays off when you can actually continue to deliver systems to the customers during the rich spending season.

Bottom line = getting the systems into homes, so that you can have a fat installed base to buy games/peripherals/live subscriptions.

Are they going to waste this season? I'm thinking no, there will be a shortage for the first couple of weeks, and then they'll flood us so that they can top 1 mill by the 1st.




I personally don't think they are actually doing a "planned shortage", like Nintendo did with the N64 back in 1996. I think it's more of a side effect of trying to pull off launching it in the U.S., Europe and Japan, all in the span of a few weeks. It would take a huge number of 360's to completely satisfy everybody in those 3 markets. So there will definitely be a shortage during the first 60 to 90 days of it's availability.


Now, going back to Nintendo and 1996. Nintendo did the most masterful planned shortage that I've ever seen. They were absolutely perfect with their shortage of the N64. They had a number of units on launch day to satisfy about 85 percent of the early adopters. Then in the next several weeks, they had periods of time when you couldn't find a N64 anywhere, and then a few would come in on a random day, and be snatched up by the other 15 percent of the early adopters. By the time it was getting closer to XMAS, the N64 was the hottest item around, like a Cabbage Patch phenomenon. Of course, about 4 days before XMAS, you could walk into any store and buy one. So the ultimately sold as many N64's as was humanly possible. It was a pure stroke of genius on Nintendo's part. They played the market like a harp during that launch.


They created this incredible pent up demand and this fever pitched level of excitment, causing people who normally wouldn't even buy a N64, to want one really bad. Then just a few days prior to XMAS, they flooded the market with N64's, making sure that if anybody really wanted one right before XMAS, they could get one. So they had their cake and ate it too.


If Microsoft is really trying to go with a similar strategy on this, then most likely, you will be able to walk into any store and buy a 360 with no problems a few days prior to XMAS.

I remember when the whole PS2 launch was happening, I actually thought that Sony was trying to do the same thing, except there weren't any PS2's to be found anywhere, and none magically appeared just a few days prior to Xmas. So it was actually a legitimate shortage on their part.