By Kyle Sutton
Television commercials, Sunday-paper catalogs, and holiday giveaways alike have all been heralding the gadget soon to be the hottest of the season: the Xbox 360. Microsoft’s latest video-game system officially launched in retail stores on Tuesday, November 22, making the company the first out of the gate in an inevitable next-generation console war among competitors. Even with the head start, though, Microsoft’s new system is not only the most sought-after gadget of the season – it’s become the hardest to find.
“We’re only going through the systems we have in our back room,” said Rob Neumeyer, store manager of the GameStop in Prudential Center, which was only stocked with 20 systems to start, all of which went to the first 20 customers who preordered the Xbox 360 well in advance.
According to Neumeyer, other major retailers such as Best Buy and Wal-Mart only received 20 to 30 systems per store for their launches, with no word at all on a second shipment to GameStop retailers. And without a preorder, Neumayer said, parents looking to surprise their kids for the holidays with an Xbox 360 may not have such luck, as walk-in customers must wait until January at the earliest to get their hands on a system at a GameStop.
Where the Xbox 360 can be found, though, it is being offered in two separate bundles: the $299 core system and the $399 premium pack, which includes a hard drive, online accessories and wireless controller.
Even with the limited supply for an gadget in such high demand, GameStop stores nationwide held midnight launches to give early reservers the opportunity to get their Xbox 360 systems as soon as possible. Customers fortunate enough to walk out of the store with the system in hand were sure to stock up on plenty of games to put it to good use.
J.R. Curley, 33, a professional in Boston, who had preordered his system on May 22, picked up the Xbox 360 premium bundle, and a handful of launch titles. Curley grabbed copies of the war shooter Call of Duty 2, Condemned: Criminal Origins, a game that puts players on the hunt for serial killers, and Peter Jackson’s King Kong: The Official Game of the Movie, transparently based on the upcoming movie.
Brett Michel, 35, a Boston resident in advertising, also thought ahead in picking up thirteen launch titles, including the much-anticipated shooter Perfect Dark Zero, before actually getting his system, which he had reserved on June 15.
“They’ve got a couple core systems, but no one’s buying them,” said Michel, who was one of the many to purchase a premium bundle.
The most popular games to accompany the launch were Perfect Dark Zero and Call of Duty 2, as everyone who was buying an Xbox 360 couldn’t go without those titles, according to Neumeyer.
