14 DAY TRIAL // Phil Harrison, a corporate vice president at Microsoft, says that the Xbox One, which is at the moment launching on core markets all over the world, is in heavy demand and will probably be sold out during Christmas.
The executive tells GameIndustry.biz that, "Pre-orders have been unprecedented, and the supply that we are bringing in to the market in addition to the pre-orders will mean that by far and away it’s our biggest launch ever."
The entire launch team at Microsoft is currently working with the manufacturers to make sure that as many devices as possible reach stores quickly.
Harrison adds, "I can only apologize in advance to anybody who is let down before Christmas, we don’t want to lose a sale, clearly, and we’ll work hard in our operations and our manufacturing supply chain and obviously with our retail partners to make sure we catch up as quickly as we can."
Microsoft has not revealed actual pre-order numbers for the Xbox One, but the company says that it is the highest number it has seen for a hardware product during its entire history.
The new home console is designed to offer an increase in the quality of graphics via its more powerful hardware, while also acting as an entertainment hub for the entire family.
The new improved Kinect motion-tracking system will also power a new user interface type that will allow users to quickly switch between applications and always stay connected to their friends.
The Xbox One will have to compete with the PlayStation 4 from Sony during the Christmas shopping season, which is already available in North America and will arrive in Europe on November 29.
Analysts are expecting the Sony device to have an edge for the rest of 2013 because of its lower price and better customer reaction to pre-launch news.