360 shortage in full effect

Well, I'm glad I was first to preorder at my gamestop. I think I am going to start buying all my accessories before launch, that way, the only thing I need to pick up on the 22nd is the system and games (and maybe I can pick up the games early too).

Bad thing for 80 preorders?! They are VERY lucky to get that many!

My store has well over 200 preorders and we are maybe getting 50.

This store should be quite happy.

Yippee! thats my city, I wonder what location?! Doesnt matter im 1st on the list! Muhahaha

What is the [bleeping] source on this? Holy Canoli. Joystiq you're losing serious credibility when you officially report Xbox 360 shortage news from "Phil in Toronto" without any sort of link or otherwise solid evidence.

POST SOURCES.

So, if there ARE actually shortages, will you guys stick your collective feet in your collective mouths? Or will you merely say "meh, must have been them saying there were shortages which caused the shortages"?

It's getting tiring for all 360 posts to end with "but, it probably won't do as well as this story seems to indicate".

Just called 4 EB Games, in Toronto all of them said they have them ready, or are getting them any day now. Also they ALL said no accessories or games etc. until the 22nd.

Man, I went and pay off my Xbox360, just to tell me that I'm on the 2nd shipment. That sux really bad, and I preordered it in June, so how can I be on the 2nd shipment?? They told me mid December.....booo!!

I hope it's just a market thing MS is pulling off....

O'Neill::

I pre-ordered in Oct at a downtown Toronto EB. They said they'd be getting at least 100. But apparently I'm farther down the list.

Crap.

I preordered in July. The first week in fact. And I am not getting my xbox at launch. how fucking crazy is that?

I preordered in July. The first week in fact. And I am not getting my xbox at launch. how fucking crazy is that?

You are forgetting that Microsoft is promising that the supply of consoles would be continuous and gradual - which means, if the initial launch day stocks sell out on day 1, there will be next shipment in a few weeks. It is not as if they will sell out a couple of thousand on day 1, and then sit there with no consoles on the marktet for the next few months. Do you think Microsoft is that insane, so as to make their launch day game developers suffer with measly sales for the first few months? That would be tantamount to corporate suicide.

It takes time for the console production to reach peak levels - having started production barely two months ago. Considering the world wide launch in the span of two months, is it that surprising that the initial supply was going to be less in all areas compared to a typical Sony launch strategy of getting the console out in Japan almost 5-6 months before the rest of the world?

This is freaking insane rumor mongering.

Hello All,

My name is Julia, and I am writing to clarify a couple of things regarding this article:

1)The EB Games store this article is referring to is actually in Oakville, ON at Town Centre 2 (just outside T.O.) - this I know because I work at this store along with "Phil", the EB employee who informed Joystiq of this Xbox 360 "shortage". That is an actual photo of our back room's xbox 360 stock.
So consequently,

2) in response to comment #5 above - Phil IS the source!! An EB Games employee! Testifiiiiied!!! lol... Our store was actually originally "guaranteed" around 70-75 xbox 360s for launch (including preorders), but now, as Phil has informed, we have only been shipped 34 systems, with 80+ preorders. A sad state of affairs indeed. Therefore, it is safe to assume that Microsoft does indeed have a hardware "shortage" - for the time being, anyway. Sorry All!! I work at EB Games and I can't even get one. So yes, we are all unhappy about this... *J*

Once again, NYC proves to be the biggest dumbass in the known universe with his comment.

HAHAHAHAHAHA

The EB Games in Oakville?!?! HAHAHAHAHAH

Oh man, I went to school at Sheridan. HOW on Earth is the EB Games in that mall in Oakville making the "news" on Joystiq?? HAHAHAHAHA

Holy cow that's funny.

But the truth of the matter is this: if you pre-ordered your system at EB Games, you're a fool. Those little niche shops *never* get lots of stock. Never. For anything.

I swear to god, you could walk in there right now looking for a copy of Halo 2 and they'll tell you they're back-ordered until January. And that it'll be $10 more than the retail chains.

But man ... I gotta tell ya, the Oakville/EBGames thing has totally made my day.

The EB Games in Oakville ... hahahaha

Guys, this is just ONE example of so-called supply cut-backs occurring at every games retailer across North America.

NYC: there's not a link, because the photo and the information was sent directly to us. I'll make sure we are clearer in future situations when the same happens. We frequently get sent material that isn't available elsewhere.

Gmrc is right. being the unthaughtful person i am, i preordered from that same outlet at Oakville place mall. and to your surprise i just got a phone call today, about 5 minutes ago saying that i will be on the second shipment. when i preordered i was number 28(yeah im a nerd)but now im 32?? how does that happen?? It really makes me mad. they supposadly were sent less of what the were expected to recieve.I warn you now DO NOT ORDER FROM OAKVILLE EB GAMES OR ANY OTHER SMALL EB GAMES. If it is some scandal, i hope they know they wont be seeing me around anymore, or any of my friends.

First Microsoft was claiming that they were coordinating the shipment of over 1 million 360s worldwide for launch. Now there's suddenly a shortage. Either they don't have the supply or they're purposely hoarding it to create a shortage. Which is it? Only the bald guy knows...

What, does Oakville only have one EB or something?

I preordered back in August at an EB in tdot and I was four, or fourteen, or something like that...anyways, you get the point :p

Oakville's got 3 EBs, as far as I know.

- Oakville Place Mall
- Oakville Town Centre II
- The plaza on the west side of Dundas and Trafalgar


Man, now I wanna go break-in. :p

Your comments: regarding my last post. i take back the idea of boycotting eb
games. it is a good store and regret to mention otherwise. i guess i was just so
angry i got alittle carried away. but microsoft should hold up to their shipping
promises.

First off, i didnt think i would spark so much craziness...anyways, in response to "gmrc", thinking EB is a little Niche shop shows that you are highly uninformed, EB/Gamestop is the largest specialty retailer in the world, and the only store that sells more product then EB is WalMart. SO save your niche for someone else.... Secondly anyone who would like to question my credibility can send me an email at phil_mo@hotmail.com and i will show you the light (i mean you NYC)...trust me this is getting so bad the Eb is actually trying to force employees to give up their Preorders for customers (we dont get discounts on systems) even if we paid in full!! And for "AJ" the size of an EB is irrelevant, it is a corporate company that allocate's it product according to preorder numbers, these numbers are given to Microsoft in this case and they decide how much product they can give to each company, not each store. As Julia said we were promised 70- 75 systems, and GUARANTEED 44, then today we were told that we were only getting 34, this happened to all EB's...and lastly "Dean" go into an EB on Wednesday when the accessories come out, we all have them in our back rooms, they go on sale Wednesday, and we are getting Games Tomorrow starting with Call of Duty 2, come and check if you dont beleive me....so thats all i have to say about that for now...i hope to hear from some of you with more of your funny ideas...and please email me, i would be more then happy to hear what you have to say....Thanks...Phil (the source) from Toronto/Oakville

actually phil, if you are going to reference eb and game stop together it should be gamestop/eb is the world's largeest video game retailer, considering gamestop bought out eb. =) i am a manager at a gamestop just thought i would get a rise out of you. =)

Who's the idiot who said EB/Gamestop was the number one specialty electronics store???

Do you work there? Did EB/Gamestop blow you last night? C'mon man get ur facts right. Seprate, they ranked 42 & 44. Together they would barely break 20th.

Idiot.

Who's the idiot who said EB/Gamestop was the number one specialty electronics store???

Do you work there? Did EB/Gamestop blow you last night? C'mon man get ur facts right. Seprate, they ranked 42 & 44. Together they would barely break 20th.

Idiot.

Obviously reading and writing skills surpassed you early on in your childhood. If you knew anything about either company then you would know that Gamestop bought EB earlier this year and will officially merge this January....and yes i do work there, i am the source for this article...thanks for asking

Phil said:

"EB/Gamestop is the largest specialty retailer in the world, and the only store that sells more product then EB is WalMart".

Wow, you really ate up the corporate BS you were fed, huh? Oh well, at least you are enthusiastic about where you work. Thats not sarcasm, I really mean that. I always get the impression from people that work there that they wished they didn't.

Now to the facts. I don't dispute that EB/GameStop is larger than the word "niche" implies, but when you claim they are the largest specialty retailer "in the world", I can only laugh. EB/Gamestop had 2005 revenues of 1.8 Billion, while the first "specialty retailer" i could think of is Blockbuster at 6 Billion. Circuit City and Best Buy are also "specialty retailers" and you don't come close. Then there are the Targets and the Walmarts and the Amazons of this world.

Even Game in the UK has about a billion in revenue, and they don't have much presence outside of that (much smaller) market.

So, niche? No, but don'y kid yourself you are anywhere the size of companies such as Best Buy and Circuit City. I'd be surprised if EB/Gamestop got more than 2% of the launch systems.

Anyway, don't mean to rain on your parade too much, just wanted to give you an alternative spin on the corporate line. I hope you and Julia enjoy the launch.

Want some more bullshit news about EB Games in Toronto? The Eaton Centre store is only allowing the first 20 people on their pre-order list to pick up their systems at midnight on the 21st.

This makes ZERO sense, considering that when the PSP was released they allowed everyone who had pre-ordered to show up at midnight. Easily 75 people were there.

i can't deal with everyone's sh*t anymore . . . jesus. Everyone here is so pissed at gamestop and they have no clue that it is microsoft that is causing (or has propelled) the problem by not having enough units available for the launch. everyone here says "oh i work at gamestop and i know" or "i work at best buy and i know". well evidently, what you "know" is very little (because all of you have different opinions). instead of everyone posting bs rumors about "what you know", if you work at one of these stores, call your distict manager and ask how many units the store is getting for its second shipment, and when the second shipment is coming. that is what everyone (who isn't getting one next one week from around right now) wants to know. stop wasting everyone's time with bs speculative posts and heresay. after waiting since June (i preordered june 16) I've had it up to here with all this he said she said. if you work at the store, and "know" so much - get a god damn real anwser and post it.

For Ian, the opening at midnight for the first 20, is because they only have enough systems to cover preorders, with the PSP we had tons of overstock to sell through, plus the price point on a 360 is so much higher, All EB's in Canada at least, are scheduling time for the first 20 pre-orders so that a customer has 15 minutes each on their own to pick what they want (games, accessories) without the hassle of a packed hectic store...and for hy2005 the second shipment is schedule tentativly for December 7th, with a 3rd shipment supposed to be for December 27th, these are soft dates from Microsoft, things can always change. Also there hasnt been a confirmed allocation number, but it is supposed to match the original allocation of each store!!! anything else you would like to know...cause yes i am full of actual information. And i am not posting my opinion, just facts straight from Microsoft and my DM...thanks

Shortages suck

GM, specialty retailer imply's that the store specializes in a specific product, such as video games with EB/Gamestop...while Best Buy, Circut City etc sell all different types of electronics, cds, movies, fridges for that matter, blockbuster is also a rental store, not a retailer where up until this year the bulk of their revenue was from late fees...and now is stuggling to stay in buisness (http://news.yahoo.com/s/usatoday/20051109/bs_usatoday/blockbusterfightstostayingame)

So.....
The company to be formed from the merger will be called GameStop Corp, and will be pulling in annual revenues of $3.8 billion, spanning 3,200 stores across all 50 United States, District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico, as well as around 600 international stores.

Either way no other store in the world sells more video games then EB/Gamestop

Walmart and Target are department stores, and allocation of product given to EB/Gamestop is actually higher then the product allocated to any other retailer because of the previously posted fact of being the largest video game chain in the world...EB's only has one source of revenue and that is video games, where all the other retailers your mentioned have many, many other products that they sell, and to imply that any of those big box stores are specialty in any way is crazy....Best Buy Canada for example only had 20 systems to preorder per store, 10 for customers, 10 for employees, and this past weekend they released 50 systems a day for 3 days with online preorder being the only way to aquire a system for all of Canada...while EB for example has 100 plus systems within 3 stores in a 15 minute radius (all pre-orderd), and with 3500 plus locations worldwide the stock of EB/Gamestop is far superior to that of any other store department or not....

ps...thanks for the fun and intelligent posting discussion...(no sarcasm implied) its rare that you see people with replying with
actual arguments, as opposed to opinion

also i plan to skip launch so i can enjoy my 360 but thanks for the thought...

Phil: Do you know how many systems the Eaton Centre store is getting in?

Also, further to your comment on the 2nd & 3rd shipment dates, I thought that MS had stated that systems would be shipping to stores on an almost daily schedule after the launch.

Alright, Alright calm down everyone! I really mean it. There seems to be alot of unnessasary hostility concerning the launch of the greatest console to ever land on american soil. We didnt mean to upset alot of people, we just wanted to (stir the hornets nest) as they say to get the ball rolling. Everyone will have their 360's launch day Nov. 22, 2005. Most retail outlets should have received their first shipments ( about half of what we promised)with the second shipment coming in a few days before ( the second half of what we promised) and even more after that. So you can probably count on receiving your 360 if you preordered. I hope everyone has a great holiday and play nicely...

Ian, the information about the shipment timing was passed down today from Microsoft to my DM, i was aware of the daily shipment rumour, but i think it has been decided that it would be more effective to ship out in bulk, especially with the delay of DoA4 coming out the 7th as well, seems convinient

i dont know for sure how many they are going to get, i could find out tomorrow if u want to check i can post it, or u can email me

Phil-
You work at Gamestop? And yet somehow you're trying to talk to us as if your an educated investment banker. You're not. So don't.

In addition. YOU WORK AT GAMESTOP. Your not an english teacher, or a terribly good reader.

Stop what your doing and asses the situation. Your full of shit and eager for attention. Actually, on top of that, your pretty fucking sensitive.

Relax, calm down, and take it slow.

Let me unravel the corporate brain washing you've received, and set straight all the poor people who may have taken you inaccuracies as truth.

-GameStop is the largest video game specialty retailer.
-WalMart is the world's biggest retailer.
-Best Buy is nation's largest specialty retailer.

Now shut it.

Phil: I'd appreciate it greatly if you could find out for me.

Toys R Us in my area got a shipment of 360s as has Circuit City. Both in the US. Both in the SF bay area.

My EB didn't lose any 360s from it's preorder allocation.

Adam T, thanks for your fine opinion of my life... i work at an EB, not a Gamestop (yes i know that they are now the same company), nice to know that your reading skills are up to par as well. I never claimed to be anything more, i am just answering questions posted due to some information that i thought this blog site might find interesting. Obviously i was right in that assumption as this has been going on for the past 8 hours. And just so you know my employment at EB is my way of funding my University expenses.

Also please inform me on how i am full of shit, or eager for attention when most of the postings on here are written directly to or about me... im sorry if i choose to respond to people's inquiries as to where i get my information from. Its also nice to know that you are such an eloquent and polite individual, im sure your mother would be proud of you....have a good nite buddy

i cancelled my pre-order at EB today, i pre-ordered back in july and they told me it would be january before i got mine. so screw it, hopefully i'll be able to get one at circuit city or walmart

You work at an EB location...The location is called EB, not Game Stop...But Game Stop owns EB. But it's still an EB location. Your name tag says EB. Ok. Ok. I get it. Sorry.

You live in a city called "Oakville.

In this forum you reffer to yourself as "the source".

YOU WORK AT A VIDEO GAME STORE.

Shut it.

Kill yourself.

Adam T, you're an idiot.

Wow...someone is sensitive.....im not calling myself the source, im clarifying to people that i am the person who took the pictures and submitted the info that this article is based on so people can direct there questons to me

What does the city i live in have anything to do with anything...

AS bernie said your an idiot, go find something better to do with your life while i actually accomplish something with mine

Well I ordered from a EB Games just north of Toronto and I JUST missed the first shipment list. I'm first on the second shipment, and I'm fine with that as long as its not more than 2 weeks after the launch date.

It's so funny that this is the Oakville store that I preordered my 360 from. I'm so happy I'm on the first shipment list.

Oh and Adam T you're an idiot!

And as for Phil he's a good guy and he knows his stuff.

One word: WOW. This amateur informational session has turned into a battle to the death....War on Blogs, I shall call it. Maybe I should not have clarified what store Phil and I work at... Adam, you are not being very nice. This informational/questioning blog has now become a personal attack site, which I do not think is fair to any parties. Everyone on here seems very eager to own their respective xbox 360 systems, and with darn good reason. However, should we not turn our sights (and ultimately efforts) to collaboration and xbox unity and love? lol... jokes. seriously though, everyone not need get so worked up! We are all on here for the same reason, with the same hobby, and the same passion in life - VIDEOGAMES!!! Let's give a moment now to turn our eyes to the ground and say to eachother, "I'm sorry... wanna duke it out on Live, Halo-style?" (or whatever online game you prefer) lol... now THAT's how WE do it!! THAT'S why we all rock, THAT'S why we want to know WHAT is going on with our 360's, and THAT'S why we have Halo online to take out our frustrations on eachother. not on a blog that children could be reading to catch up on some fun vid news.

Besides, those of us who work at EB Games/Gamestop/"EGames"(huh?)/"StopGaming"(hah)/"whatever-you-feel-like-calling-it-now" (yes, now I'm just being silly) have already taken enough personal shots in-store about all this stuff... what nobody seems to understand, however (especially angry moms, lol)is that IT'S NOT OUR FAULT!! besides, this is all hearsay... regardless of who tells who what on what day wearing whatever underwear (thank you Mr. Pants!!), NONE of us will know ANYTHING FOR SURE until the day of. whew, am I going to get rocks thrown at me now? Anyway... the point is, Phil IS a great guy, I should know, I work with him; EB Games is a fine retailer to shop at (and if you dont like it, then don't complain! Just don't shop there!); and finally, yes, Microsoft probably WILL have shortages of xbox 360 in North America for launch, and why is this? Certainly not because they want to see War on Blogs the next new reality show (hah), and certainly not just to make us angry and turn on eachother. It's called means and material of production. Resources. Labour. Too many people want the same expensive thing on the same day ALL OVER the WORLD!! and why?BECAUSE >>>> XBOX 360 IS GONNA ROCK THE VIDEOGAMING WORLD!!! AND THE BEST THAT WE CAN ALL DO IS WAIT AND SEE IF WE GET OURS ON LAUNCH. AND IF NOT, sure, be cheesed, you have the right... but you can't do anything about it, and neither can we... SO... in light of that, WAIT PATIENTLY LIKE A KID WAITING FOR A LATE BIRTHDAY PRESENT AND PLAY IT AT YOUR FRIENDS' HOUSE UNTIL THEN!!! Besides, won't it be AMAZING for you either way? And then we will all be happy, and good and ready to blow eachother's heads off online...not literally, kids...as we should. :)

Love and undies to all vid heads out there,

*Julia* (previous blog: #12) p.s. sorry for the novel, but I feel much better now. thanks. :)

Id like to know if i got a phone call just saying we are getting in less then we would hope of the xbox 360 systems and we are takeing first pre orders what does this mean for me? they didnt say i wasnt reciveing one like most people said there call was about and i aint sure what part of the lsit i am on but i go there to pre order like before all the pre ordering stuff was displayed every where

Yeah i had the same thing happen i belive im on the second shipment but how many average on the first shipment? tho im probally pushed back to the 3rd if they are limited in the suplly now :(

SO has anyone pre ordered through A DIFFERENT outlet, if so what outlet and are they having their orders cut also??? A NON EB GAMES OUTLET...anyone? anyone?