Stores are getting shipments in every week and selling out as soon as they do. How is that a failure? One analyst predicts 10-12 million sold by year's end. See http://next-gen.biz/index.php?option...=2358&Itemid=2 . It has launched with more quality games than any console in history (and more excellent ones coming out this month) and was the first to ambitiously launch in the U.S. and Japan virtually simultaneously.

While it has not done as well in Japan, that was to be expected. Japan is increasingly becoming a small player in the videogame industry anway. The European market is bigger, and the best development studios are outside of Japan these days. Sony will continue to dominate Japan because a) it is a Japanese company and b) because it will cater to the Japanese by providing a steady diet of the ever so odd games they seem to like. I hope Microsoft never does that unless it doesn't come at the expense of the kinds of games I like. The best thing about MS and the Xbox is that American videogamers are no longer at the mercy of Japan and Japanese developers as we were with Nintendo and Sony. Gone are the days when we would have to wait a year or more for the U.S. version of a game or new console. This will hopefully force Nintendo and Sony to broaden their horizons as well.

Don't get me wrong, I am not at all a Microsoft fanboy. I have owned just about all the major consoles. I own a PS2, though it doesn't get much use anymore. I will say that the Xbox and 360 are my favorite so far (and the Dreamcast, which is surprising since I loathed Sega after getting burned by the Sega CD). I will probably get a PS3 and Revolution too unless Sony or Nintendo really drops the ball with them, which I doubt. It is nice for a change to have an American console that tends to have games that are more oriented to *adult* American gamers.

That was my problem with the launch. If it was expected to be such a failure in Japan, then why launch in Japan? Why not take all of those units that are setting on shelves and distribute them here? They get the PS3 first, that's good enough.

:up::up::up:

Nothing against the "Cutsey Poot" games that the Japanese, and many here, love but they just don't appeal to me anymore in my old age.

Well I'm not saying product is a "failure". I'm just saying that the launch was a complete failure. For it to be a successful launch, all the preorders should have been filled. Not 20%.

I do agree that the quality of the games available at launch is pretty damn good!

I still can't believe I can't just walk into a store and get one now if I wanted to.

I don't think preorder fulfillment alone is the best measure of a successful launch. In any case, the stores share a lot of the blame there, as they took preorders without knowing how many they were getting.

If in LA, AAAH'S on Ventura blvd in Sherman Oaks always has people standing outside with signs when they have them in stock. They had the signs out Today(Thursday) saying they have premiums and cores.

How is it Microsoft's fault that game stores took more preorders than systems they would receive?I have been wondering about this for awhile as every time I go to ebgames.com I see they are selling more bundles. Does this mean ebgames has fulfilled all their preorders and they have so many extra units they can still make new bundles? Or does this mean that ebgames is screwing their customers? I don't see how that makes MS's launch a failure.

I am not sure about that since I only have 3 games for mine and the only other one I want right now is Kameo. I will say this, I waited more than a year after the PS2 launched and several months after the original xbox launched and I didn't buy this many games with the system. It took awhile to get that many good games going. Now here I am with this great system and 3 games I really want to play more of and beat but there are new games coming out over the next two months I want too. So I think the quality of the games available at launch and right after are much better than seen before with previous gen.

That's how I got mine. In fact I went into Kmart yesterday to see if they had any good game deals and they had one in the display. As I said before there are always bundles online, in fact the inventory tracker RSS feed I have shows a bunch even one from fingerhut. I can't see how those of you calling this launch a failure always point to not being able to find one. Isn't that the best indicator that the launch went well, when demand is high months later and the units are still being moved well?Sure it would be nice for people to be able to walk into any store and see the system and buy it quick, but if every system is being sold as soon as it goes in the store then the product is still hot.

My main question to all the people who call the 360 launch a failure is this. What will you say about the PS3 launch if it comes out in spring like they say, since they now have about 3 months and a week? Since the last I heard they hadn't even had the BD specs finalized that isn't enough time to build a good inventory and launch a new platform. Considering it looks likely that PS3 will not be out in the US until late 2006 or even sometime in 2007 and with us knowing the the PS3 will not have a HDD in it and the speculation the price could be $700, I would say the 360 launching when it did was a pretty good move. By the time the PS3 comes out there should be plenty of 360's on store shelves and when you look at the non-hdd 360 core system at $299 and the non-hdd PS3 at $700 it kind of makes you wonder what Sony was thinking this time around. I do hope the speculation is wrong though, the PS3 should not be a penny more than a core system if you ask me. I would have to get one even if only for the BD player built in then.

I think the issue here is not that it's impressive the 360 has been selling out, because it seems like when a store DOES get a shipment, it's very small (5-10 consoles.) It's easy to sell out that kind of shipment.

We're now what, almost 3 months since launch? And they still can't make enough? I've never had this much trouble getting a console I wanted, and I've been getting them since the 2600. I REFUSE to buy a bundle, so that's out too.

I work at Best Buy and we only get about 6 360's per week. They usually sell out within the first 15 minutes of opening the store. It's really pathetic actually. I am a huge xbox fan, but I think Microsoft really screwed up with this launch.

What happened was that stores were informed as to the number of pre-orders they could take. And they did. Then when MS ran into mfg. capacity issues the reduced the pre-order numbers by nearly 2/3rds. That left only 1/3 of pre-orders to be filled. I do know of a few instances where stores ignored the numbers and took as many pre-orders as they could. But it is definitely MS' fault when they tell stores one number months before and then weeks before, dramatically reduce that number.


The launch titles were decent, but not great. CoD2, PGR3, and maybe Condemned were the only ones to show off the 360's nextgen-ness. And even those titles had issues.


The fact that there are still people around who want one but can't find one is not good. Some of these people will soon give up. Others have already given up. If supply meets up with demand, is it because of greater supply or because the demand has been reduced? We'll never really know for sure.


I'm not a fanboy, so if Sony has the same shortage issues, then I'd say that it too was a failure. Selling a PS3 for $700 wouldn't make it a failure if people snap them up as fast as they make them.

Someone once said that Sony could take a PS2, put it in that prototype PS3 case, sell it as a PS3 for $500 and they'd sell a million of them in one day. I believe that. Which in essence may end up happening if the cost and schedule of Blu-Ray isn't helpful to a PS3 launch.

rotfl the million in one day thing is a slight exagerration but yeah I said that and I still believe it to this day, MS doesn't enjoy the insane fan following that sony does.

Like I said, I remember people complaining about having a preorder at ebgames and yet ebgames.com was selling new bundles. I don't see how it is MS's fault that stores like ebgames took a certain number of preorders and then they turn around and create bundles to make more money rather than filling all those preorders they took. Was there enough 360's to cover the demand at launch? No, I think we all expected this all along as this usually happens with consoles. They had some manufacturing issues and the worldwide launch also helped to make it a little worse but there were systems and stores like ebgames screwed over their customers.



I won't argue with you on this as I had stated myself that I only got PD0 and condemned out of the launch titles and I got fight night 3. CoD2 looks good even with the problems and Kameo. Other than that I am not all that interested in the launch games, mainly because of the price. I think the increased price is BS for the consumers.


Supply will meet demand one day, and then people will be able to walk into the store and pick one up. It has to happen so it isn't a matter of if. As for the people who give up/gave up, what are the alternatives?If they want to play there is only one next gen system now and it looks like Sony may not be in the game for some time. The head start, a years worth of good titles and xbox live all make for some good reasons to not drop your money on a PS3 when it comes out with a bunch of games that were already out on 360 and the few exclusives available at launch. Even though it makes no difference to me how well Sony does, and I do know they will sell out the first shipment fast, I just don't see Sony making MS the number 2 system anytime soon.


So MS is a failure because people snatch up their console as fast as they can make them but Sony would not be a failure if they are in short supply and charge $400 more than MS, w/o a hdd, but people buy up the small supply they have???This is the thinking I don't get.

The Best Buy on Research Blvd in Austin had about 5 or 6 core systems left when I went by at lunch. I bought the last premium.

I might have tried to cram too much thought into a single sentence. :) I'll try again.

MS' launch was a failure because demand FAR outstripped supply.
Sony's launch will be a failure if demand FAR outstrips supply.
If the PS3 sells for $700 w/o a hdd, and demand is only slightly more than supply, then that would be considered a success (barring any other issues like release titles, build quality, etc.)

In the equation, it isn't important what they sell and for how much, but a ratio of demand to supply that will help dictate the level of success. I'm talking specifically about the success of the launch... not the success of the console overall.

When the PS3 comes out (whenever that will be), if they can't fill 70%+ of the pre-orders within a week, then that is a failed launch in my opinion. A very successful launch is one where all the pre-orders are filled and whoever wants to get one, can get one.

Stores get pre-orders, which in turn order the product from the distributor who in turn get the product from Microsoft/Sony/whoever. MS/Sony should know ahead of time via these order, how big the demand is and should have enough product out to satisfy this demand.

Since we're well far away from the XBox360 launch date, whether or not you can get one now has nothing to do with the "launch".

Can we please keep this thread on topic? I am still trying to find a 360 and use this threads for head up on how to get one. Why does it need to be a 360 vs Ps3 debate?

http://tinypic.com/qnskcm.jpg

Check your local Best Buy stores :D!

http://www.bestbuy.com/site/olspage....&itemId=847033

well check craigslist. i broke down today and got new premium in sealed box for $450.

RVP, have you checked your local kmart? I'm telling you, the local walmart never has them, probably because they are so busy that as soon as they get them in people snatch them up, whereas kmart is usually pretty dead in the electronics area since their prices are never very special.

I think this has been talked about and is pretty well known why there's a shortage and not an abundt supply of 360's.

http://www.xboxsolution.com/article3022.html

Do a Yahoo or Google on "360 Chip Shortage" and you'll see why.

Kenny J.

I had to comment on this. I recently walked into a best buy and they had plenty of systems in stock. Both premium and core. If i had that opportunity in november/december, there would have been **0** doubt id have purchased one on the spot. But now that the hype was over and i saw available units, i truely lost intrest in the system and decided to wait for the ps3. It was definetly a failed launch IMO as people who actually had cash in hand to purchase a unit werent able to. That is just bad buisness sence. If they were available, id be a Xbox 360 owner right now, but it is not the case, sadly.

That is how most recent console launches have gone. It was the same way for the PS2 and it will be the same way for the PS3. Don't fool yourself into thinking otherwise

:rolleyes: By your measure, the PS2 launch was a failure also. Enjoy your wait for the PS3.

JM, I have to agree with you. Anyone who says, "I would be an xbox owner right now but I am going to wait for the ps3..." is basically saying that they are going to miss out on a lot of great next-gen gaming right now and for the next few months. If any of you guys think Sony is going to be able to get all the specs for BD done and get enough units to launch in the US and Japan this spring then I really need what you are smoking. By the time the PS3 does launch here there will be so many games for the 360 that are not launch titles and have great quality that it will be the system to have for sometime. Not to mention, buying a 360 now for $300 or $400, or buying the PS3 with no HDD for $400-700 when it is finally released. Not to mention, xbox live and the xbox live arcade are proven services that are here now and work great. Who knows how the new Sony network is going to work and if it will be any better than the way they do it now on PS2 and PSP. I really hope they get a great network going because I love my PSP and my biggest complaint is finding people online for a good game of poker. If only they had the rep system like live then I wouldn't be playing against some ass who is going all in every hand. Anyway, back on topic, I can't wait for the PS3 to launch so we can get some better competition on the next-gen gaming prices and I might end up with one when they drop below $200 if that happens in the next 5 years ;). Anyone who wants to wait for a system that they don't know how much it will be, when it will be released and even how well it will be received must be more a Sony fan than a gaming fan. I can tell you right now, there is no way Sony will be able to meet demand for their console this time around with the short window they gave themselves, well unless they price it at $700 but they wouldn't do that to all those loyal Sony Playstation fans who waited for them would they?My loyalty is to my wallet and my fun. I am enjoying the 360 right now even though I didn't think I would even buy a next-gen system until next year sometime.

I picked up a Premium at my local Curcuit City today, I got the last one. They got about 12 in this morning and i got the last one at about noon.