http://www.foxnews.com/story/0,2933,38872,00.html

Hmm. Foxnews is reporting that MS only shipped 300,000 units. That's better than the Gamecube's Japanese launch, but fewer than the US PS2 launch. Sales have been brisk, from what I heard, but not the "sold out in minutes" frenzy of the PS2 launch.

Online retailers like Amazon and EBgames don't seem to be pushing the X-Box as hard as they pushed the PS2, also. I get e-mails from both, and I've received nothing about X-Box. I've also heard that stores have not been putting up large displays for X-Box in a lot of places.

What's your take?

The stores I have been to Taget,Best Buy, Wal Mart ect all have stuff everywhere. I think the launch has been good. A lot of good games are out now and coming soon. I am happy as can be with HALO.

It's a little early to tell just yet. Response seems to vary from place to place. Some places seem to have sold out in minutes others still seem to have some units.

Xbox has a fairly solid line up of launch titles, at least from the prosepective of many genres represented on launch.

The real key will be how quickly MS can refill the supply chain once the initial units are gone.

The real time to ask would be early next week.

-Naan

The launch is good as far as moving the 300,000 consoles. Now we can see how the Xbox does the rest of the season.

Well the EB in my town had both their front windows packed with Xbox systems, big boxes for the system and games, balloons etc. Tons of controllers and other accessories. No systems though. Canada seems to be pumping the Xbox big time. Just check out http://www.futureshop.ca to see what I mean (Future Shop is Canada's version of a Best Buy/Circuit City.) And I agree that it's a little too early to tell how the launch went, seeing as the day isn't even over and it's only 2PM on the west coast.

At the stores I've been to today, it seems to be a success, but not like the demand for the PS2. There wasn't much of a line outside the stores as the PS2 release had.

Let's also not forget that a lot of gamers probably expected a bad launch like PS2 had and preordered to make sure they got one.

-Naan

Too early to tell, as others have mentioned. The true test of a system is not it's launch, but it's staying power. If word of mouth is good, the system will last...regardless of how well the launch went.

the Wal-Mart I worked at sold 40 units in 6 1/2 hours (employees were not allowed to buy any, per management)

True....to a point. It's a small fraction of the units that move at launch, but it can leave an impression. The frezny of the poorly-handled PS2 launch gave the system a must-have quality that (to steal a great line from the USA Today writer) made it cool to own a PS2 for almost a year even though there wasn't really anything cool to play on it (until GT3, anyways).
On the other hand, the underwhelming response to the Gamecube launch in Japan (which was, unfortunately just one or two days after 9/11) left developers and investors a little jittery about the system's future.
That said, I agree it's hard to tell much from the Xbox's launch, except that brand recognition in the product is high, and that there isn't the PS2-type frenzy yet (which really means nothing, actually; there certainly wasn't a frenzy for the PSX when it lauched).

Judging by the sets being auctioned on ebay, no, it hasn't been as great a success as PS2. Prices are below retail there.

It took about 4 hours for the my local kmart to sell out of Xbox. They had 30, no line I just walked in and asked for a system. It will be interesting to see GC launch in the next couple of days.

Maybe someone could explain how a console "selling out" determines success? I would think a successful launch would be having enough console units for all your potential buyers so they can sell more of their real money makers ( Games and Accessories ).

They still charge retailers they same amount regardless of demand so I would think a shortage of consoles would actually hurt them as a potential buyer would look at other console options so I think they would not want this.

I wonder if that means that people are waiting for Gamecube, or if they're just uncomfortable putting out that kind of money on Christmas gifts this year.

Sony has ramped up PS2 production for the holidays, so all three console makers may end up eating some sh*t this holiday season.

If production can match demand, then something is wrong. With 300,000 launch units, they should sell out very quickly. Sony launched with 500,000, and that night they were over $500 on e-bay, because they were all gone.

People were offering me $400 for the PS2 when I was walking out of the store.

The fact that X-Box demand is not as high as PS2 demand mean the X-Box is doomed; there are two systems competing with it right now. But it does mean that X-Box doesn't have much of a chance of toppling the PS2. It can still beat down the Gamecube, and have a comfortable existence in second place, establish MS in the games market, and break even for them.

I'm rooting for the Gamecube, however, even though I won't be buying one. I like Nintendo, and we don't need someone like Microsoft trying to corner the games market by buying up developers.

I think there is less disposable income this year then last. So people are holding off purchases longer. GC is $100 less then Xbox that will influence potential buyers (+ the 4 upcoming Resident Evil titles) especially in this economy.

I think that the Xbox launch is a sucess, there may not be the hype surrounding it like PS2 but in the long run the people who wanted a system got one that will go further then the animosity someone might hold aganist Sony for screwing up PS2 launch. Sony may be #1 now but it wasn't because of a sucessful PS2 launch. A sucessful launch would be better judged by the ratio of games sold to each system, this is where the $$$ is made.

I think a key thing is that XBox is competing with a soon-to-be-released Gamecube and a still-hot PS2. What was the PS2's competition last year? A year-old (dying?) Dreamcast. The PS2 had a great window of opportunity where a lot of gamers were ready for "the next great thing". This year, the PS2 is still strong (IMO it's just hitting it's stride with GTA3, MGS, Smackdown3, etc.)- so people aren't necessarily ready to move on yet.

Having said that - I will happily have all three after Sunday!

Daryl

ScandalUMD, you just don't get it do you? Is this all about one console "winning" over the other? Who cares about the "sold out in minutes" verbage? And whether or not the XBOX is being pushed by any particular vendor, who cares? There are over 300,000 people tonight who could care less about the non-ending dish of F.U.D. that you and your ilk continue to serve up despite a relatively successful XBOX launch.

A little over a year ago, I was going over and over whether I should go out and buy PS2 when the new Nintendo and the then only rumored X-Box might blow it out of the water a year later.

Sure, I was happy playing SSX and Tekken Tag, but the prospects that the PS2 might suffer the fate of the Dreamcast worried me. In two years, my PS2, or those 300,000 X-Boxes may be nothing more than very bad $300 DVD players. So I am certainly concerned with how a console sells.

One console DOES win, and that one gets the best games, first. The others get them later, or never. I was not a Sony fan before I bought PS2; I'd always gone with Nintendo. I looked at the situation, and I figured PS2 was the horse to bet on.

It's nice that some people have $800 to spend on video game hardware. I don't, so, unless there's a compelling reason, I will generally bet on one console, and I expect it to last me a while.

I don't think the X-Box launch was particularly successful. The PS2 shipped nearly twice as many units, and still sold out faster. The X-Box launch may have been relatively successful, considering the competition, and the economic downturn, but if that's not good enough to put X-Boxes in the most homes, then most of the best games will not be on X-Box in 2002 and 2003.

So those 300,000 people playing Halo may not care now, but in a few months, when there's nothing nearly as promising showing up in the forseeable future, and the X-Box has one tenth the user base of the PS2, maybe they'll care more.

I don't have anything against Microsoft, particularly. I'd love to play Halo and DOA 3. But, the fact is, X-Box took a big hit when Gamecube showed it up at E3, and this launch may be a second hit. There was nothing about this launch that makes me think that the X-Box will have the user base to attract the triple-A titles from the best developers.

I would think my reservations about the X-Box were confirmed rather than debunked by the launch. So those 300,000 people may be happy now, but I'm happy knowing I didn't waste my money on a console that was slow out of the gate when the competition has a year's head start.

And I could do without the name calling. If you have a different analysis of the X-Box launch, I'd be interested to hear it. Quite frankly, I kind of want to be convinced to buy a second system. But right now, neither Microsoft, Nintendo, nor any segment of the gaming press or community has offered any convincing arguments.

I felt it was something of a failure, locally at least. Last year PS2 was mammoth, sold out in minutes. Our Best Buy got around 70 Xbox units in and did not sell out the entire day. There are still some left now, after closing. I was completly surprised, I expected it to at least sell out, especially with as few as we got compared to the PS2 launch.

It definitely wasn't the same as the PS2 launch around here. The consoles sold out in hours instead of the few minutes it took the PS2.

However, as already posted the competition is much greater. Two people I spoke with said it wasn't even as crazy as the Dreamcast launch in their stores. My friend at Game Stop said they even had a few people show up to get Game Cubes.

It's still too early to tell though. We will have a much better idea of the winner this holiday season in January. One thing I heard at Game Stop and Game World from employees was the launch titles really hurting the Xbox. Most felt the demo's available didn't really help sales any. Mad Dash Racing, Cel Damage, NFL Fever, and Nascar Racing just didn't hold up to Rouge Squadron, Wave Race, and Luigi's Mansion on the Game Cube demo. Not to mention the rush they have had for MGS2 on the PS2.

The guys I talked with were not encouraged at all by the launch, but at the same time they figure a killer MSG2 type title here or there would really make a difference for the Xbox.

Here, judge on these numbers from my Target store in Minnesota...

Number of people waiting in line at 8 am: FOUR.

Number of units received: 24.

Number of units sold in the first hour: NINE.

Number of unit remaining at closing (10 pm): TWO.

Yeah, I think I think it went over like a fart in church. I sold 2 XBoxes after 4 pm. I had one person call asking about it. I had about 10 calls on the GC. I had roughly 10 people stop and converse with me about the GC.

I think the GC will be a much stronger seller. And one big reason, name recognition. That's why Nike sells so many shoes, that's why McDonald's sells so many hamburgers, and that's why Nintendo will sell so many systems.

Number one question about XBox: "Who makes it?" Not any sales material with Microsoft on it, like they are ashamed to admit they produced it.

My $.02.

ScandelUMD,

Microsoft has never released an exact # of units manufactured for launch. The reality is the market can support 2 systems (SNES and Genisis and PS1 and N64). Both systems have had great titles and are sucessful.

Dreamcast had a great E3 two years ago. They had the most enjoyable games and Sony, well they had some good looking tech demos but not much else. E3 is really not an indication of future sucess. I think Nintendo had a great show but there jerks. They could careless about the older demographic. There games looked great but there not the kind of games I want to play.

I think Sony will be #1, but when your the favorite you supposed to sell out. They'll should be #1 but not becuase they had a sucessful launch, or a good E3, or because they were out a year early (i.e. Dreamcast). They'll be #1 becasue Sega and Nintedo dropped the ball 4 years ago with N64 and Saturn, and PS1 was the easier, simpler system.

Now Xbox is easier to work on with a simpler business model. They'll be #2 at least and there not going away (i.e. Dreamcast)

Your $.02 ain't worth $.01:

I picked up mine at time square last night but out of curiosity I stopped at J&R Downtown NYC on my way to work. They had 200 units and sold out in 2 hours. It just depends what location your at. Perhaps One of them nice Trash-Co dumpsters isn't the best place to be selling gaming consoles. j/k your dvdtalk profile location made it too easy.

At this point, this is still all just speculation. The 300K figure comes from "analyst estimates" which I've never seen actually attributed to any particular analysts by name. MS has repeatedly stated numbers significantly higher than that, but they've been a bit weasley about it by couching it in terms of total units they expect to ship by year end (1.1 to 1.5 M).

I expect that sometime in the next day or two, MS will release their "official" estimates about launch day sales. If they don't, I'd actually be somewhat worried as it would be a signal that perhaps they weren't that impressive. Of course, the same applies to the GC launch.

If we were to accept for the moment that the 300K figure is accurate, I can't see how this is anything but utterly embarassing for MS. Granted, there's the weakening economy, the competition from GC, and the recent tragedies; but still, only 300K units available at launch and apparently they've only had sporadic sell-outs? IIRC, DC had 300K in pre-orders alone. Sure, sales quickly tanked thereafter, but they had a successful launch.

Of course, that only goes to show that a "successful" launch doesn't guarantee long term success. And as others have mentioned, Sony's PSX launch was hardly spectacular and it went on to be the most successful game console ever.