The Microsoft Xbox 360 is by far one of the most talked about video gaming systems of all time. With all of its capabilities and advanced technology it has lived up to all the hype. Or has it? It's hard to tell how great the Xbox 360 is because only a limited amount of people have been able to get their hands on one due to Microsoft's limited release. In late November of 2005 Microsoft shipped its first batch of Xbox 360s and then made no comment of when they would release more. The majority of people see no reason why Microsoft would due this. With so many people anxious to buy one, why wouldn't Microsoft keeping releasing more? There are a couple of good reasons for the limited release. The main reason is that it creates scarcity, which then creates an enormous buzz. If consumers knew that Microsoft was going to keep releasing more and more Xbox 360s they would have felt no reason to buy one right away. However, since everyone knew that there would be a limited release you had people lining up outside stores days in advance just for a chance to get one. Of course this led to an incredible buzz that surrounded the Xbox 360. Every news station, newspaper and online media outlet was running huge stories about the Xbox 360. Due to all of the news coverage, one would have to be living in a cave to not know what the Xbox 360 is. The second reason is simple supply and demand. The low supply of the Xbox 360 matched with the incredibly high demand resulted in the ability to charge higher prices. Microsoft priced the Xbox 360 at $399. For most people this is a large investment but since everyone was worried that they may have to wait months to buy one they acted like $399 was a bargain. For weeks after the Xbox 360 was released people were buying systems off of eBay for over $1000! That is the power of low supply and high demand. No one really knows for sure when the next batch of Microsoft Xbox 360s will be released. However, everyone knows that they better buy one fast when they are released because of what happened in November of 2005. It seems that Microsoft's release schedule has created just the market they were looking for. Stay up to date on all the Xbox 360 news at http://www.xbox-360-news.com |
