It’s Microsoft’s turn to feed the Xbox Series X shopping frenzy, after retailers opened up Sony’s PlayStation 5 preorders last week. Demand for the video game systems is off-the-charts, but ordering either console has been a difficult experience for many gamers.
The next-gen video game console Xbox Series X is available for pre-order on Tuesday, alongside the cheaper and smaller Xbox Series S.
Both will be released on November 10. The Series X costs $499, while the Series S, which is less powerful in terms of technical specifications, costs $299. Xbox describes the Series S in an email as “smaller than a cereal box.”
Retailers including Amazon, Target, Best Buy, GameStop and Walmart opened up pre-orders Tuesday morning.
Immediately after pre-orders went up, gamers across social media reported being unable to access retailers’ websites, running into broken links and unavailable products.
The PlayStation 5 was met with similarly high demand last week, although analysts have predicted Sony’s console will outsell the Xbox Series X by a large margin, due to the PS5 having enticing exclusive games like “Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales.”
Similar to Microsoft’s (MSFT) launch issues, Sony’s (SNE) uncoordinated effort last week had customers scrambling to figure out how to pre-order their PS5.
Xbox Live’s programming director Larry Hryb addressed the website issues in a tweet: “As pre-orders kick-off around the world, we’re hearing from our retail partners that demand is high. We’re doing all we can to make as many consoles available as possible and that the process is fair. Thanks for being patient!”
