eToychest - 360 Degrees of Confusion

More fear and loathing running rampant on the 'Net in the days before the Xbox 360 launch. Are the shortage stories true?

I'll tell you what I've heard, and what I've experienced, and I'll let you draw your own conclusions. First, I should be getting a 360 for PlayFeed from Microsoft's PR department, but e-mail is not being returned. I've heard froms some friends at Microsoft that every possible unit is being sent to retail, including any that might have been slated for promotional or even for Microsoft's company store.

Given how many contests are out there to win machines, I find it hard to believe that this shortage will be anything other than a case of miscommuncation and maybe a little media massaging. Savvy shoppers will be able to go to places like WalMart at midnight to get a console, so it's just a matter of knowing how to play the angles. But in any specialty shop that takes pre-orders, you could very possibly be screwed.

I will say this. Every shortage report I've seen all appear to be talking about the first shipment being over-sold. Most retailers already have their consoles from the first shipment. It would not be at all surprising for another shipment to show up before launch, and probably a third shortly after launch.

But it makes for great news, all those lines of desperate kids and parents trying to track down the holiday season's hot toy, doesn't it? Who wouldn't want to milk that as much as they can?!