Last year saw the release of a new generation of video game consoles, and for millions of people around the world, attempts to buy one were fruitless. While the PS5 appears to be the more popular console out of the gate, the Xbox Series X/S is still much-desired, selling out almost as soon as they come into stock at retailers nearly two months after launch. However, Microsoft is working to address the problem.
Speaking on Major Nelson's podcast, Xbox Head Phil Spencer claimed that the company was doing everything it could to ramp up production of the Xbox Series X and its smaller sibling, the Series S. However, it appears that there's only so much that can be done, as there are still real-world circumstances that are causing production pipelines to struggle to keep up.
"I get some people [asking], ‘why didn’t you build more? Why didn’t you start earlier? Why didn’t you ship them earlier,'" Spencer stated on the podcast, "It’s really just down to physics and engineering. We’re not holding them back, we’re building them as fast as we can. We have all the assembly lines going. I was on the phone last week with Lisa Su at AMD [asking], ‘how do we get more?’ So it’s something that we’re constantly working on."
Microsoft has been open that Xbox Series X availability will be strained even in 2021, so fans shouldn't expect consoles to magically appear on store shelves any time soon. That being said, Microsoft is making an effort to keep up with demand, though part of the problem simply seems to be that interest in video games is high right now. Spencer went on to state that gaming came into its own in 2020, citing hardware and game sales as a sign of that being true.
Spencer thanked fans for their patience as Xbox catches up with demand, while also mentioning the difficulty that other hardware has had keeping up. All around, 2020 broke video game industry records, and with high consumer interest in the next generation of game consoles, the industry seems primed for continued growth in 2021.
Spencer's words of encouragement are reassuring. Xbox Series X pre-orders and stock has been negatively affected by bots, which buy large amounts of consoles to resell them online. It's been a frustratingly consistent issue for fans, as no new hardware has been immune. The situation has led to scalpers reselling Xbox Series X and PS5 consoles for outrageously high markup, sometimes well over $1,000.
Recent reports indicate that scalpers have made millions from reselling consoles, and retailers have been unable to effectively thwart the issue. The problem will lessen as supply is increased and demand lessens over time, but it's still yet another obstacle fans have to overcome if they want to get their hands on a new system. Hopefully, Xbox is able to ramp up production and solve the issue sooner rather than later.
The Xbox Series X/S is available now.
Source: VGC