Microsoft had previously announced when pre-orders for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S would open up across all regions to ensure that customers would have a fair chance of reserving their next-generation consoles in orderly fashion. The outcome though was the complete opposite.
Australia and New Zealand, according to regional timings, were some of the first countries to start taking pre-orders earlier today. The demand was so high that nearly all online stores began experiencing frequent crashes or time-outs. The lucky customers who still managed to place their pre-orders helped sell out all available Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles in Australia and New Zealand within a few minutes.
Similar scenes of mayhem were witnessed in the United Kingdom and India as well where Xbox Series X sold out within minutes of pre-orders going live. The cheaper Xbox Series S alternative also sold out across most major retailers but through frantic searching, customers in the United Kingdom and India were still able to find some available units scattered across local stores.
Amazon and the Microsoft Store did not fare any better. Amazon too sold out all of its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S inventory within a few minutes. The Microsoft Store, as evident, started taking pre-orders with the largest available stock but sold out within the hour.
Suffice to say, the same high demand is to be expected from other regions (and online stores) as well. Microsoft, in all fairness, did communicate beforehand that all efforts will be made to make sure stocks are kept full. With the first wave of Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles already sold out, Microsoft should be confirming soon when the second wave will be arriving.
Both next-generation Xbox consoles will be launching worldwide on November 10, 2020. The flagship X costs $500 while the trimmed-down all-digital version costs $300.
