Xbox head Phil Spencer has apologized to fans for what he views as the inevitability of supply shortages for the Xbox Series X. This is a reiteration of the executive's opinion that both the Series X and its competitor, Sony's PlayStation 5, will sell out during the holiday season due to supply shortages.
Demand for the new hardware is certainly high. The entire gaming community is well aware of the fiasco that erupted when the PS5 became available for preorder. After Sony confused fans with vague messages about "select retailers" the internet fell to chaos as those same retailers listed their preorder units too early, leading to widespread crashes and website bugs that prevented fans from ordering the console in time. When the dust settled, all PS5s were sold, but a lot of fans were left frustrated, exhausted, and confused as to when they might get another shot at preordering the new console. At the time of this writing, preorders still aren't available.
The Xbox Series X certainly had a smoother preorder process than that mess, but as of the time of this writing, it's no easier to find online. GameSpot reports that Phil Spencer isn't expecting this to change any time soon. To quote Spencer, "We know what our supply will look like basically for the rest of the year. We're going to have more demand than we do supply. And I will apologize in advance to people for that." Spencer expects demand to outstrip supply for a few months after release, even extending into 2021. It's a grim reality that he paints for gamers excited by the new console, but one that he's clearly very confident in.
This year has certainly been an unconventional one in which to launch a new console. The COVID-19 pandemic shut down a lot of trade shows, preventing Microsoft from showing off the Series X in conventional ways. News of the new console has definitely been slower than usual as a result, and it's likely that supply lines have been impacted as well. Google analysts report that the Series X stands to outsell the PS5 2 to 1, which is not going to make it any easier for Microsoft to keep the consoles in stock.
There are a lot of exciting things to look forward to with the advent of the new consoles. Even current-gen games like No Man's Sky are set to shine on the new hardware like never before. It's a very exciting time for video game fans, which is why it's pretty rough to hear Phil Spencer state with such certainty that not everyone will be able to make the generation leap right away. Fans who haven't been able to successfully snag a console preorder might have a long wait ahead of them, especially for the Xbox Series X. Here's hoping it'll be worth it.
Source: GameSpot