I've yet to see one in any store I've been in (Calgary, AB). Mind you, I haven't looked very hard since they're too expensive for my pocketbook right now. A single income family cannot afford much outside the necessities.
Brad Kellett
· 3 years ago
No worries finding them in Australia, you can walk into pretty much anywhere that sells them and grab one off the shelf. The thing that is a little scarce around here, is the wireless controlers.
anon
· 3 years ago
I think you have your sources wrong or are intentionally trying to mislead.
xbox 360s are selling for $170 in Japan (aka the "premium" edition sold in the US) and $60 360 games are selling for $29.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
anon: all I can tell you is about the experiences I am having. If you think I'm wrong, go into Best Buy in Bellevue and try to buy one.
Employees are reporting in from around the world and they are reporting that supplies are getting better, but they are still flying off of the shelves.
Brandon Paddock
· 3 years ago
Be sure and add Brandon Live when you get it online :)
Samuel
· 3 years ago
Can't comment fellas. My roomate bought one from his friend a week after it came out. Had many a fun night of Fight Night Round 3, Ghost Recon, Call of Duty 2, and the latest, Oblivion.
Hopefully when it comes time for me to buy my own (~September) they'll be readily available..and maybe modded.
Kirupa
· 3 years ago
The Premiums have been consistently sold out at the Best Buy in Cambridge, MA. I've pretty much decided to wait out the summer and try to pick one up when I get back for the fall college semester :P
Brandon Paddock
· 3 years ago
anon - you must be talking about the "deals" where you sign up for an internet service package for 2 years or something.
They do the same thing with the DS and other consoles (offer a huge discount for signing those kinds of contracts).
Michael Arrington
· 3 years ago
I bought one last night myself. Very little blogging happened on techcrunch today for some reason. :-)
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Michael: the entire Web 2.0 industry is gonna take away your Xbox if this continues!
Richard Clifford
· 3 years ago
Yeah...the old "I'm buying it for my son, not for me" bit. :) My flatmate has one and since picking up 'Oblivion' he's like a squirrel in winter, just emerging to search for acorns. Or in his case pot noodles.
Enjoy the 360.
Ewan Spence
· 3 years ago
Silly question, but how many stores are stocking the XBox 360 packages? If you have a handful of stores stocking 20 (and selling out) as opposed to lots of sotres getting two each, then you'll get a different buzz on how the sales are doing (I see to remember Pat McVeigh and Ed Colligna engineering a simialr trick with the very first Pilot). Would there be a certain 'management' of the stock chain to ensure the buzz is on the good side of 'flying out the window?'
Renai LeMay
· 3 years ago
A very common problem for gaming journalists, Mike (or technology journalists in general). Namely "do I have to give it back now and actually write a review?" ;-)
Eric Norlin
· 3 years ago
Here's my Xbox 360 story for the week: I had a dream sunday night that I was in a BestBuy getting an Xbox 360. Monday I call the local BestBuy and the lady on the phone says, "Oh yea - we got 50 core and 50 premiums in on Friday - I think we have about 30 of each left."
Needless to say, by 6pm Monday night I was deep into building up some power on Tiger Woods. The thing is out of this world - truly.
Danny Sullivan
· 3 years ago
My experience was that I returned the damn thing soon after I got it, deciding that backwards compatibility should mean something other than being compatible with only 13 percent of my existing library. Covered over here on my personal blog: http://daggle.com/060131-111336.html. We had to wait forever to get them in the UK. I don't think we have shortages over here any longer. Might go back to it down the line; then again, might just wait (longer) for the PS3. If Microsoft effectively wants me to have two different game boxes, might as well start my HD game experience with someone else. Really bad marketing, too, because I was big Xbox fan.
Alex Foley
· 3 years ago
I also thought I had the best Saturday of my life last week, when I got one of the two Xbox 360 Premiums that were on the shelf in the local Target. I came back a few days later, and another one had replaced the one I bought, and there were still two on the shelf.
Oh well. Supply issues solved I hope. Ghost Recon is still incredible.
Derek
· 3 years ago
I actually picked mine up in a really small mom and pop shop in Brockport NY for the actual price! I was surprised considering the only other place i could find the 360 was the bigger stores and they only had the core version and I needed to buy two games and a controller. The cost was $600 a well for the package!
Luckily I didn't have to pay that much for mine. I paid $400 for the hard drive version.
Chris
· 3 years ago
I didn't know 360's were selling for such a low price in Japan, but the number of units sold is tiny. Less than 1,500 in a week. See this:
I've been half heartedly looking for a 360 for the last couple of months. I had hoped to find them at Costco, but I haven't been lucky enough to show up on the days their shipments come in. But earlier this week after a failed Costco trip I wondered over to Best Buy in Silverdale (WA). Sure enough, they had a bunch of each variety. But I left without one.
Why? Because the sales-kiddy working for Best Buy assured me I needed to purchase their $50 replacement warrantee. As usual, I declined his offer but then he went on to tell me that 35% of the 360's come back to the store defective and he saw three come back just earlier that afternoon.
Do I believe him? Probably not. But either way I wasn't going to make a purchase after that. So I'll continue to wait until Costco has their bundle available again. Costco has _never_ tried to make me buy an extended warrantee to be comfortable going home with something I purchased there.
HackUbergeek
· 3 years ago
I have seen them on a shelf at Best buy here in Columbus as well.
Scoble, if you don't play often, you will love the arcade games. They are so easy to pick up and play, and cheap too. I almost easy to put down, but that isn't always true.
Even if you only get a free Silver account for yourself, I think that you should post your gamertag. Comparing your gamerscore and acheivements to your friends and family is part of the fun.
Enjoy!
Ian Ceicys
· 3 years ago
I'm living in Cleveland Ohio and I was driving to a code camp in Boston and I had to go to the middle of nowhere Pennsilvania to get an Xbox 360.. You can read about it over here: http://spaces.msn.com/zeodomain/blog/cns!A53B5F...
Tobin Titus
· 3 years ago
I was able to pick one up very easily at Game Stop in Bellevue. I blogged about the whole thing because, well, this machine is truely fantastic, imho!
I'm trying not to be critical/judgmental about your personal life, but in reading your blog for technical information I often end up reading these type of posts, which I'll admit, are sometimes interesting. However, every time I see a post like this I think to myself that you should seriously check out the book Affluenza.
The movie's incredibly cheesy, but it's easier than the book to tackle. It's often available on ILL from your local library.
Just a thought that keeps crossing my mind and thank you for your entries.
Christopher Coulter
· 3 years ago
Supply issues not solved in Peoria...nor Sacramento, firsthand reports. Seems best around Seattle, or maybe just the only still remaining demand, had a loaner for awhile, less desire to slurp up one myself, but now back in the mood given some of the games.
Always been more the XBMC functionality type for my video and display purposes (prevents rendering for quick demos, event coverage quick kick up etc.) but 360 doesn't support all the video recode high-compression formats, assuming in a typical Microsoft fashion, that all that use such are but movie pirates. Sigh.
Matthew
· 3 years ago
yeah geeky fun is right, RS! But take a look at Xbox.com - they just added the ability to send friends requests from the website.
And Gamertags are connected w/ .net passport logins.
And MSN Spaces added Xbox 360 modules, with current info about recent games played, achievements, etc.
These are different groups at MS converging to make this connected experience happen. What'll it look like 2 years from now?
Michael: maybe - if MS opens up RSS and APIs, we'll see gaming merge w/ Web 2.0 in interesting ways...
Jonathan (Rainmaker2112)
· 3 years ago
Picked mine up about two weeks ago...the last one in Circuit City. I just checked yesterday and saw four core systems in the Walmart here. Also, the local Gamestop has 10 Premium's and 10 Core systems in stock. BTW, they're running a "get $80 off an Xbox 360 when you bring in your original generation Xbox" deal. If you're in or near Bellingham, WA you'll want to check those places, as well as the local Target, since they're getting regular shipments.
As far as experience, you'll want to see if for yourself. There are very cool things going on at Xbox.com, including web-based friends management and more. Let me or one of the Xbox MVP's know if you need any help or have any questions. If you or Patrick want any online gaming send me (Rainmaker2112) or my son (Merc4hireV2) a friend request.
BTW, you'll definately want to check out the Xbox Live arcade, since there are alot of old arcade favorites, including Marble Blast Ultra (like the old Marble Madness), Joust, Galaxian, Wik, Bankshot Billards, and Trixie's favorite...Zuma. Even if you don't get into the other games, the arcade is worth it. BTW, in a recent interview Bill Gates says that the arcade games are huge favorites for him and his family.
Glad to have you online Robert and Patrick.
Diana
· 3 years ago
My boyfriend and I got ours back in December, and it's awesome!!! I'm suprised nobody has talked about Perfect Dark Zero, it's an awesome game, and the multi-player version is amazing too. You get to play with like 32 people at a time.
Also, you can add your gamerscore card to your Google homepage now too, it's neat.
Hope you and your son enjoy the 360!
Maryam Scoble
· 3 years ago
We are returning the Xbox babe. Sorry. We can't afford it now. We'll buy one for you this summer.
John A Thomson
· 3 years ago
You had better grab one quick before Lucent force Microsoft to withdraw them all!!!
I had to return 2 of them before I could get one that didn't overheat. Very frustrating. But the one I have now is terrific, and if you have a young son as I have, the Arcade games are sufficient without getting involved in the overly-complicated games.
So I guess that's a 66% return rate for me!
Jonathan (Rainmaker2112)
· 3 years ago
One of the key factors in the overheating is that people have been putting their Xbox 360's on the carpet or in a small space without ventilation. If you have to put it on the floor then put it on a piece of wood or book that won't impede the airflow. Also, make sure you do the same for the power supply brick, since it can cause overheating if blocked or impeded too.
BTW, Pelican has an Xbox 360 stand than includes a fan to help increase the airflow. You can find it at most stores that carry Xbox 360 accessories, including Best Buy, Target, etc.
I haven't had any problems with mine and it's been running 20-22 hours a day x 7 days a week x 30 days.
Keith Patrick
· 3 years ago
I had mine quit reading game discs after a month. Just got it back, but I'm hyperparanoid about it flaking out again. But outside that & some pretty glaring bugs in the games I've played, it's been really nice.
Jason B.
· 3 years ago
I've had my xbox since last year. Waited a long time in line for it. It has frozen twice in the half a year or so that I've had it but has been working fine otherwise.
I've been sending ideas in to the xbox team which I thought were pretty good, (xbox.live.com which when populated let's you read RSS feeds on your xbox was one idea) but of course I never get any type of return email or note or anything when I send in feedback. I wonder how many people have had that or a different experience.
At any rate, the xbox is absolutely great. I'm a firm beleiver that the reason for the PS3 getting delayed is not DRM for BR, but inability to match xbox live 2.0
My online tag is Mystopas, anyone please feel free to send me a friend request. You'll find having friends on live will make your experience that much better.
Gabriel Rivera
· 3 years ago
Yesterday I went to a Best Buy here in Miami and they had more than 60 in stock. I didn't buy it because I want to buy the MacBook Pro, but I think I will go today and pick one up. :-)
karl
· 3 years ago
Heh, wait till you get Oblivion :-) Never has a game been so aptly named, it's like an endless adventure, you look at the dvd in wonder, trying to figure out how they fit this world onto a DVD :-)
BTW Oblivion and GRAW are the only two games that do the xbox 360 credit.
scobleizer
· 3 years ago
Jason: who are you sending them to? I'll kick their behinds for not acknowledging your emails.
Dan Mitchell
· 3 years ago
Yeah, I'm hoping to pick mine up at a Best Buy up in NH.
All Comments
xbox 360s are selling for $170 in Japan (aka the "premium" edition sold in the US) and $60 360 games are selling for $29.
Employees are reporting in from around the world and they are reporting that supplies are getting better, but they are still flying off of the shelves.
Hopefully when it comes time for me to buy my own (~September) they'll be readily available..and maybe modded.
They do the same thing with the DS and other consoles (offer a huge discount for signing those kinds of contracts).
Enjoy the 360.
Needless to say, by 6pm Monday night I was deep into building up some power on Tiger Woods. The thing is out of this world - truly.
Oh well. Supply issues solved I hope. Ghost Recon is still incredible.
Luckily I didn't have to pay that much for mine. I paid $400 for the hard drive version.
http://www.gamasutra.com/php-bin/news_index.php...
Why? Because the sales-kiddy working for Best Buy assured me I needed to purchase their $50 replacement warrantee. As usual, I declined his offer but then he went on to tell me that 35% of the 360's come back to the store defective and he saw three come back just earlier that afternoon.
Do I believe him? Probably not. But either way I wasn't going to make a purchase after that. So I'll continue to wait until Costco has their bundle available again. Costco has _never_ tried to make me buy an extended warrantee to be comfortable going home with something I purchased there.
Scoble, if you don't play often, you will love the arcade games. They are so easy to pick up and play, and cheap too. I almost easy to put down, but that isn't always true.
Even if you only get a free Silver account for yourself, I think that you should post your gamertag. Comparing your gamerscore and acheivements to your friends and family is part of the fun.
Enjoy!
http://blogs.msdn.com/tobint/archive/2006/04/02...
However, every time I see a post like this I think to myself that you should seriously check out the book Affluenza.
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1576753573/sr=...
or http://www.pbs.org/kcts/affluenza/
The movie's incredibly cheesy, but it's easier than the book to tackle. It's often available on ILL from your local library.
Just a thought that keeps crossing my mind and thank you for your entries.
Always been more the XBMC functionality type for my video and display purposes (prevents rendering for quick demos, event coverage quick kick up etc.) but 360 doesn't support all the video recode high-compression formats, assuming in a typical Microsoft fashion, that all that use such are but movie pirates. Sigh.
And Gamertags are connected w/ .net passport logins.
And MSN Spaces added Xbox 360 modules, with current info about recent games played, achievements, etc.
These are different groups at MS converging to make this connected experience happen. What'll it look like 2 years from now?
Michael: maybe - if MS opens up RSS and APIs, we'll see gaming merge w/ Web 2.0 in interesting ways...
As far as experience, you'll want to see if for yourself. There are very cool things going on at Xbox.com, including web-based friends management and more. Let me or one of the Xbox MVP's know if you need any help or have any questions. If you or Patrick want any online gaming send me (Rainmaker2112) or my son (Merc4hireV2) a friend request.
BTW, you'll definately want to check out the Xbox Live arcade, since there are alot of old arcade favorites, including Marble Blast Ultra (like the old Marble Madness), Joust, Galaxian, Wik, Bankshot Billards, and Trixie's favorite...Zuma. Even if you don't get into the other games, the arcade is worth it. BTW, in a recent interview Bill Gates says that the arcade games are huge favorites for him and his family.
Glad to have you online Robert and Patrick.
Also, you can add your gamerscore card to your Google homepage now too, it's neat.
Hope you and your son enjoy the 360!
http://www.reghardware.co.uk/2006/04/05/lucent_...
Regards
John
So I guess that's a 66% return rate for me!
BTW, Pelican has an Xbox 360 stand than includes a fan to help increase the airflow. You can find it at most stores that carry Xbox 360 accessories, including Best Buy, Target, etc.
I haven't had any problems with mine and it's been running 20-22 hours a day x 7 days a week x 30 days.
I've been sending ideas in to the xbox team which I thought were pretty good, (xbox.live.com which when populated let's you read RSS feeds on your xbox was one idea) but of course I never get any type of return email or note or anything when I send in feedback. I wonder how many people have had that or a different experience.
At any rate, the xbox is absolutely great. I'm a firm beleiver that the reason for the PS3 getting delayed is not DRM for BR, but inability to match xbox live 2.0
My online tag is Mystopas, anyone please feel free to send me a friend request. You'll find having friends on live will make your experience that much better.
BTW Oblivion and GRAW are the only two games that do the xbox 360 credit.