The Xbox Series X and S consoles are finally here, and the launch is going extremely well for Microsoft. Consoles are selling out fast, and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has now spoken about this, apologizing for the shortages.
“We need more consoles [laughs],” Spencer said during an appearance at GlitchCon. “The number one request I get over and over is it’s so hard to get the consoles right now. And I really apologize for that. We’ve been building them for almost two months now and trying to get as many into the stores as we can, but the demand is just so high.”
Spencer went on to say that, with COVID-19 impacting the world as it has, 2020 been a challenging year with all kinds of obstacles for developing games and releasing a new platform. Despite those challenges, Spencer said he is proud of his teams and those at Sony and third-party publishers for releasing new games and consoles this holiday season.
In a post on Xbox Wire, Xbox boss Liz Hamren also acknowledged the shortages, saying Microsoft is “working tirelessly” with its retail partners globally to bring more next-gen Xbox consoles to people soon.
Despite the shortages, Xbox Series X/S launch represented the biggest-ever for Microsoft. The company sold more consoles, in more countries, than ever before over the first 24 hours. For comparison, the Xbox One sold more than 1 million units over its first day in 2013, so the Series X/S consoles did better, but Microsoft did not mention a specific sales number.
The Xbox Series S console specifically was a big hit at launch, as it added the “highest percentage of new players for any Xbox console at launch.” Additionally, Microsoft said 70 percent of Xbox Series X/S consoles are attached to an Xbox Game Pass subscription. That in particular is a very big deal, as Xbox Game Pass might be Microsoft’s secret weapon on next-gen.
The stock shortages for the Xbox Series X/S consoles were expected, as Spencer warned people many weeks ago to expect demand to outstrip supply.
Due in part to the expected shortages, the Nintendo Switch is expected to be the best-selling console platform during holiday 2020 in the US.
