Remember the good old days? When you could get a PS2 on eBay for a scant $800? There's a lot of talk lately about how hard it's going to be to get an X360 on launch day. It would be a good idea to look back and try to remember what it REALLY was like on PS2 launch day. Start here:
http://www.gamesradar.com/?pagetypeid=2&articleid=20078&subsectionid=1635
Key points: everyone at both stores mentioned that showed up on launch day got a PS2! However, those who pre-ordered DID NOT. So why is everyone so anxious to get in on a pre-order on an X360?
Personally, I feel that it's stores like Gamestop and EB that fuel the pre-order madness. They tell their customers that they need to pre-order or they won't get one for months.. so people plunk down their money. They over-sell their preorders, which makes it look like the units are scarce ("sorry but you're #87 on the list and we only got 10 units on launch day"). What makes gamers think this launch is going to be any different?
Here's my predictions for Nov 22:
#1 - Nearly every gamer who goes to Best Buy or similar B&M stores will get one.
#2 - Many gamers who have preordered from Gamestop or similar stores will not get one
#3 - Gamer's who fit prediction #2 will noisily invade the forums and talk about the "shortage" of X360's
#4 - As Christmas approaches, X360's will be harder and harder to find (like any other particular consumer item) and eBay prices will spike
I'm just trying to keep this whole thing in perspective. Gamer's are an emotional bunch, and emotions make for poor purchasing decisions.
http://www.gamesradar.com/?pagetypeid=2&articleid=20078&subsectionid=1635
Key points: everyone at both stores mentioned that showed up on launch day got a PS2! However, those who pre-ordered DID NOT. So why is everyone so anxious to get in on a pre-order on an X360?
Personally, I feel that it's stores like Gamestop and EB that fuel the pre-order madness. They tell their customers that they need to pre-order or they won't get one for months.. so people plunk down their money. They over-sell their preorders, which makes it look like the units are scarce ("sorry but you're #87 on the list and we only got 10 units on launch day"). What makes gamers think this launch is going to be any different?
Here's my predictions for Nov 22:
#1 - Nearly every gamer who goes to Best Buy or similar B&M stores will get one.
#2 - Many gamers who have preordered from Gamestop or similar stores will not get one
#3 - Gamer's who fit prediction #2 will noisily invade the forums and talk about the "shortage" of X360's
#4 - As Christmas approaches, X360's will be harder and harder to find (like any other particular consumer item) and eBay prices will spike
I'm just trying to keep this whole thing in perspective. Gamer's are an emotional bunch, and emotions make for poor purchasing decisions.
