Microsoft’s Xbox 360 is already sold out online, forcing Wal-Mart’s e-tail site to suggest to consumers that they line up outside its stores at midnight on November 22, the date it will be released in the United States. Amazon’s site also said the unit is not available in the U.S. and told consumers in the United Kingdom they may not be able to get an Xbox 360 before the holidays, according to Bloomberg News.
Bids on eBay reached as high as $4,100 this week, according to PortalIT. On Friday, eBay bids were over $1,200. Microsoft plans to sell the unit for $299, or $399 with extra accessories.
Microsoft is counting on the Xbox 360 to snatch sales from Sony Corp.’s PlayStation. Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft may not be able to capitalize on the demand should too few units be available.
"People are going to have to go to extreme measures to get an Xbox 360," said Evan Wilson, a computer-games analyst at Pacific Crest Securities in Portland, Ore. "From Microsoft’s perspective, they would have liked to get out more units."
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