As reported previously we were able to acquire some xbox 360 games ahead of the console itself:
1. Perfect Dark Zero
2. Project Gotham Racing 3
3. Call of Duty 2
We got those games at pretty decent prices. The only problem now is the console itself. Because of the horrendous shortage that is occuring worldwide, we are unable to find a console from the games importer that sells units here. Normally the games importer is able to get consoles/units easily, but with the 360 it has been quite a challenge because of the high demand...or the possibly orchestrated shortage by Microsoft. (Who knows, right? Microsoft is still a business, and they want to make money...and having a shortage is a great way to generate buzz, as shown by Sony with their PS2 in the past.). Whichever of the two things it is, one thing is certain. It's gonna be a long time before I even get to play the games that I got for the 360. So all I get to do is stare at the box and imagine what it must be like to go next-gen....
I made this post at http://blogs.msdn.com/xbox/ , it summarizes what I think is the real cause of this current shortage of 360s: EBAY scalpers. Here's my full post:
"In my humble opinion, it's Ebay that's causing the problem. You have people who aren't gamers who are able to acquire units faster than the average consumer. Some of the people on Ebay are taking advantage of the fact that they work at a retail chain and buy from the store as soon as the console is shipped --and THEN sell it on Ebay for a hefty profit! How does the average gamer COMPETE with that???
There are guys on Ebay with more stocks than the retail stores, it's unbelievable. I just saw one guy selling over 25 PREMIUM units. Walking into a store, you can barely see that many...the most I've seen is five or six premiums and several cores; and then you have a guy on ebay selling 25 PREMIUMS?! How is that even possible?!!
And now the EBAY people are controlling YOUR prices. They set the price to nearly double or triple what the price should be, and that makes it much harder to get a console.
I know we live in an age where things like Ebay (internet auctions etc) are a part of our everyday lives but to me i find it ridiculous that Microsoft can't ask Ebay nicely to disallow the selling of Xbox 360s there until the holidays end. I mean, if Microsoft can stop the selling of pirated software or any other merchandise, I can't see why Microsoft can't put a stop to the listing of xbox 360s by scalpers who are a large part of the shortage problem that exists in the market today. This trend is seriously detrimental to your business and I can imagine Sony must be observing how you guys are having a hard time dealing with this and may take advantage of it later.
Perhaps there are some on your team that consider the whole Ebay thing to actually be a positive trend because it gives the impression that the 360 is very popular at this time. In my humble opinion, i disagree with that notion because the window of opportunity for microsoft to capture gamers is getting smaller and smaller as the holiday season goes by. Right now it seems to me that Microsoft is capturing Ebay retailers/entrepreneurs/opportunists/scalpers more than gamers! And those guys will only end up returning the consoles to the retailers when the holidays end and when they are unable to sell them anymore on Ebay. When that happens, interest will have died down, because the holidays have ended and people will have put their money somewhere else.
When the holiday season ends and people are still unable to get a 360 because of the high price, people will simply look to the future and wait for there to be choices. And that's NOT a situation that Microsoft would like to be in if they want to dominate the market. They have to get units to gamers THIS SEASON; January 2006 isn't going to cut it, and if Ebay is not stopped, MS *will* be in second place to Sony.
Anyway, good luck to you guys. Although I am a patient person and I CAN wait for the 360 to become more available, I am very worried about how Ebay is going to affect the ability of gamers to acquire a console during the holiday season. It also saddens me that none of the feedback from MS really addresses the whole 360 scalping situation; you guys are just letting this sort of activity go unchecked. Once again, this is a big factor that is one of the causes of the current shortage and I suggest that other than getting boxes to the USA quickly, that something be done about Ebay or online auctions in general that are basically hurting your business."
That's my post. Pretty much summarizes how I feel about the whole 360 shortage and how Microsoft is basically letting it happen.
* * *
Whatever happened to the value of 'The Golden Rule'?
Confucianism: One word which sums up the basis for all good conduct...loving kindness. Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself.
-- Confucius Analects 15:23
In almost every xbox forum that I've been to, xbox gamers themselves defend the practice of selling consoles on Ebay, saying that it's capitalism, there's nothing wrong with profiteering from the current 360 craze. IMHO all that matters to people nowadays is making money and getting one over someone else...how about those who are unable to get a console? They're simply forced to accept the fact that they have to pay so much for something whose value is not that high to begin with? Not everyone has the patience to wait at 5am at the stores every day to get a console. And how do you compete with those who have such an incredible advantage (store employees, people who are dedicated Ebayers, etc.)? Just bite the bullet and pay over a thousand dollars for something that isn't really worth that much?
What saddens me is that Microsoft seems to be okay with this...they care more about buzz and less about the ethics of this scalping practice...
1. Perfect Dark Zero
2. Project Gotham Racing 3
3. Call of Duty 2
We got those games at pretty decent prices. The only problem now is the console itself. Because of the horrendous shortage that is occuring worldwide, we are unable to find a console from the games importer that sells units here. Normally the games importer is able to get consoles/units easily, but with the 360 it has been quite a challenge because of the high demand...or the possibly orchestrated shortage by Microsoft. (Who knows, right? Microsoft is still a business, and they want to make money...and having a shortage is a great way to generate buzz, as shown by Sony with their PS2 in the past.). Whichever of the two things it is, one thing is certain. It's gonna be a long time before I even get to play the games that I got for the 360. So all I get to do is stare at the box and imagine what it must be like to go next-gen....
I made this post at http://blogs.msdn.com/xbox/ , it summarizes what I think is the real cause of this current shortage of 360s: EBAY scalpers. Here's my full post:
"In my humble opinion, it's Ebay that's causing the problem. You have people who aren't gamers who are able to acquire units faster than the average consumer. Some of the people on Ebay are taking advantage of the fact that they work at a retail chain and buy from the store as soon as the console is shipped --and THEN sell it on Ebay for a hefty profit! How does the average gamer COMPETE with that???
There are guys on Ebay with more stocks than the retail stores, it's unbelievable. I just saw one guy selling over 25 PREMIUM units. Walking into a store, you can barely see that many...the most I've seen is five or six premiums and several cores; and then you have a guy on ebay selling 25 PREMIUMS?! How is that even possible?!!
And now the EBAY people are controlling YOUR prices. They set the price to nearly double or triple what the price should be, and that makes it much harder to get a console.
I know we live in an age where things like Ebay (internet auctions etc) are a part of our everyday lives but to me i find it ridiculous that Microsoft can't ask Ebay nicely to disallow the selling of Xbox 360s there until the holidays end. I mean, if Microsoft can stop the selling of pirated software or any other merchandise, I can't see why Microsoft can't put a stop to the listing of xbox 360s by scalpers who are a large part of the shortage problem that exists in the market today. This trend is seriously detrimental to your business and I can imagine Sony must be observing how you guys are having a hard time dealing with this and may take advantage of it later.
Perhaps there are some on your team that consider the whole Ebay thing to actually be a positive trend because it gives the impression that the 360 is very popular at this time. In my humble opinion, i disagree with that notion because the window of opportunity for microsoft to capture gamers is getting smaller and smaller as the holiday season goes by. Right now it seems to me that Microsoft is capturing Ebay retailers/entrepreneurs/opportunists/scalpers more than gamers! And those guys will only end up returning the consoles to the retailers when the holidays end and when they are unable to sell them anymore on Ebay. When that happens, interest will have died down, because the holidays have ended and people will have put their money somewhere else.
When the holiday season ends and people are still unable to get a 360 because of the high price, people will simply look to the future and wait for there to be choices. And that's NOT a situation that Microsoft would like to be in if they want to dominate the market. They have to get units to gamers THIS SEASON; January 2006 isn't going to cut it, and if Ebay is not stopped, MS *will* be in second place to Sony.
Anyway, good luck to you guys. Although I am a patient person and I CAN wait for the 360 to become more available, I am very worried about how Ebay is going to affect the ability of gamers to acquire a console during the holiday season. It also saddens me that none of the feedback from MS really addresses the whole 360 scalping situation; you guys are just letting this sort of activity go unchecked. Once again, this is a big factor that is one of the causes of the current shortage and I suggest that other than getting boxes to the USA quickly, that something be done about Ebay or online auctions in general that are basically hurting your business."
That's my post. Pretty much summarizes how I feel about the whole 360 shortage and how Microsoft is basically letting it happen.
* * *
Whatever happened to the value of 'The Golden Rule'?
Confucianism: One word which sums up the basis for all good conduct...loving kindness. Do not do to others what you would not want done to yourself.
-- Confucius Analects 15:23
In almost every xbox forum that I've been to, xbox gamers themselves defend the practice of selling consoles on Ebay, saying that it's capitalism, there's nothing wrong with profiteering from the current 360 craze. IMHO all that matters to people nowadays is making money and getting one over someone else...how about those who are unable to get a console? They're simply forced to accept the fact that they have to pay so much for something whose value is not that high to begin with? Not everyone has the patience to wait at 5am at the stores every day to get a console. And how do you compete with those who have such an incredible advantage (store employees, people who are dedicated Ebayers, etc.)? Just bite the bullet and pay over a thousand dollars for something that isn't really worth that much?
What saddens me is that Microsoft seems to be okay with this...they care more about buzz and less about the ethics of this scalping practice...