With Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) all but categorically stating that the Xbox One will sell out nearly immediately, eager gamers are lining up outside of retailers like Target Corporation (NYSE:TGT) and Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY). It’s not a tremendous surprise given the fanatical nature of gamers of all ages. The release of the Xbox One comes exactly a week after the release of Sony’s PlayStation 4, which is also in short supply.
Microsoft built record number of units
While Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) built more Xbox Ones for its release then its earlier incarnations, something that Microsoft is quite proud of, it still won’t meet demand for quite some time.
“We’re really gratified and humbled about the amazing interest there has been,” says Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT)’s senior vice president of interactive entertainment. “We’ve done everything we could to build as many units as possible. That said, there is a decent chance in the early weeks that we may be sold out in spite of the number we have built, which is the largest we have ever built.”
Xbox One has created a lot of buzz
The Xbox has created a lot of buzz and as suggested here, the Xbox will bring in more than just gamers, never mind that it won’t play games out of the box until users have downloaded a patch.
This newest version of the Xbox is the first release since 2005. The console features a new Kinect sensor that will allow users to control their cable of satellite via voice. Additionally, the Xbox One will allow you to watch TV while playing games.
For some, the wait in line is a family affair. Gerald Buckner II, 38, of West Bloomfield, Mich., got in line at 5:30 p.m. Thursday with his son, Gerald Buckner III, to be one of the first to receive the console.
In Salem, Ore., cousins Hunter and Brendon Winnen held down the first spot in line Thursday night at Best Buy Co., Inc. (NYSE:BBY), where about 20 people started the queue in inclement weather with a biting wind.
Hunter, 15, and Brendon, 13, were taking over for their dads, brothers Mike and Steve Winnen, who had claimed the spot at 9:30 a.m.
“They’re huge fans,” Hunter said of the adults. “Bigger than us.”
For at least one other, it’s not about gaming. It’s about the art. That is to say Kenny Irwin intends to put his Xbox One in the microwave for his website microwaveshow.com. Irwin nuked a PlayStation 4 last week and has for some time been destroying the newest smartphones and tablets in a microwave then sculpting the remains, adding eyeballs, and selling them online.
Either way, thousands will be waiting in the rain, the snow, and under beautifully starlit nights until tonight’s launch.
