A tweet from The Game Awards' Geoff Keighley indicates that Xbox will penalize retailers who break Xbox Series X and Series S pre-order embargoes with reduced allocation for the console moving forward. Xbox Series X and Series S pre-orders are scheduled to go live on September 22 following the PlayStation 5 pre-order period that began earlier this week.
While the Xbox Series X and Series pre-order period appears to be characterized by a schedule that remains consistent regardless of which country the pre-order is being placed in, PS5 pre-orders were much more chaotic. Sony has been criticized for the way that PS5 pre-orders have been handled thus far, with some retailers even informing those who actually managed to snag a console online that their order might not actually get to them on launch day. It's been a tumultuous period for both next-gen consoles that was kickstarted only a few weeks ago when Xbox Series X and Series X price points and release dates were revealed, which prompted a response from Sony and a slew of information from both companies afterwards.
According to The Game Awards producer/creator Geoff Keighley, Xbox is doing everything it can to avoid a pre-order situation like the one that plagued PS5. In a tweet posted yesterday, Keighley stated that Xbox will be punishing retailers who break pre-order embargo by reducing their allocation of Xbox Series X and Series S consoles over time. While the exact details of this policy aren't known, if it does exist, it would be a powerful deterrent for retailers looking to make some quick cash by breaking the Xbox Series X and Series S pre-order embargo time.
Given how much Sony has been criticized for PS5 pre-order problems, it makes sense Microsoft wants to avoid the same pitfalls. The momentum has been building for PS5 once more thanks to a stellar games showcase and a price point that is lower than many analysts expected for the powerful console, but consumer perception matters a lot, and a smooth pre-order process could work wonders for Xbox Series X and S.
Of course, whether or not consumers have a reason to pre-order Xbox Series X and Series S is another discussion altogether. With Halo Infinite delayed until 2021 and no must-have exclusives announced just yet, it's possible consumers will hold off on Xbox - and PS5, which, while offering a great showcase of exclusives during its price announcement, also revealed that most of its launch games will also be on PS4. It's possible that early adoption won't be a frequent occurrence in this console generation until there are bigger reasons to own Xbox and PS5 machines - but the PS5's frantic pre-order period and the demand swelling for Xbox Series X and Series S seems to indicate that remains unlikely. At the very least, it appears Xbox is once again proving its pro-consumer focus if it really is going to penalize retailers looking to exploit demand for quick sales.
Source: Geoff Keighley/Twitter