Xbox Console Supply Will Not Improve Anytime Soon

Not long after the release of the Xbox Series S and X, Microsoft indicated that constraints on supply were slowing down their ability to deliver consoles to retailers. And earlier this year, Microsoft noted that they expected the supply of consoles to be constrained through June of this year.

Seeing as June has now come and gone and retail tracking websites (and my Twitter mentions) are still indicating that supply is still tough to find, it was time for an update.

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On a podcast earlier this week, Phil Spencer touched on the topic and if you are hoping to easily pick up a console anytime soon, the news does not sound great. Spencer notes that it’s not only chip shortages that are the problem but also other components like Ethernet ports are challenging to acquire too.

Further, Spencer believes that the console shortage will “be with us for a while” and that Microsoft is seeing “demand like never seen before” which is increasing the pressure on the available stock of consoles. But, there may be a little bit of hope on the horizon for those who prefer to play games on their consoles and not in the browser.

Spencer says that they have placed huge orders for Xbox consoles but notes that there is a lengthy lead time between orders placed and consoles being delivered.

I did reach to Microsoft to see if they had any additional information about console availability and they provided the following statement:

“With the global chip shortage across several industries, we’re working as fast as possible with our manufacturing and retail partners to expedite production and shipping to keep up with unprecedented demand for our new Xbox consoles.” – Microsoft spokesperson

Make no mistake, Microsoft is not the only company facing these challenges. Sony has already stated that the supply of their console, the PlayStation 5, will see supply constraints into 2022. What this means is that if you see a console available for purchase, it’s in your best interest to buy it right away or be prepared to wait.

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Conversation 25 comments

  • dsamuilov

    Premium Member
    30 June, 2021 - 8:01 pm

    <p>I am OK waiting for the Series X to be available as long as we can get something along the lines of an Ultimate subscription for the whole family. I currently have Ultimate, but I cannot get my 14 and 10 year olds to take advantage of XCloud as I do with games that I purchase/download.</p><p><br></p><p>Paul, have heard of anything coming along the lines of a Family plan or family pack that can extend xcloud for a family group?</p>

    • dsamuilov

      Premium Member
      30 June, 2021 - 8:02 pm

      <p>Sorry, meant to say Brad.</p>

    • Paul Thurrott

      Premium Member
      01 July, 2021 - 8:47 am

      <p>I’ve not heard, but this seems like the ideal push for Holiday 2021.</p>

  • scottcc

    30 June, 2021 - 8:09 pm

    <p>With all these chip shortages all that lower-income (working class people, like myself) people will do is refuse to upgrade/move on with a new phone/console/PC/etc. for years to come. It’s already clear that consumers are being gouged at grocery stores, car dealerships, at the pump, in Home Depot/Lowe’s trying to do basic housing projects, etc. and frankly, something’s gotta give. What is that "something"? Unnecessary gadgets.</p><p><br></p><p>I have an old i5 w/ 8GB RAM and a GeForce 730 GT which gives me 30fps 720p visuals for most PS4/XBO-era console ports. I have zero reason to upgrade if my only option is to: 1) Wait YEARS for normal priced next-gen hardware or 2) pay $1000+ to scalpers.</p>

  • bettyblue

    30 June, 2021 - 8:48 pm

    <p>I got two on launch day…hounded the internet at midnight or whatever and Target came through. So my son and I are lucky.</p><p><br></p><p>Recently however two friends wanted a XSX and withing a week had one. You have just have to be all over multiple sites for 3-5 days before you can secure one. I am talking Bestbuy, Walmart, Target etc.</p>

    • RobertJasiek

      01 July, 2021 - 12:11 am

      <p>This is comparatively good supply. For GPUs, prices were at 3 ~ 4x MSRP in May and now are about 2x MSRP on 2021-07-01. Taiwan is an exception: currently some models, such as RTX 3070 TI, are available there only slightly above MSRP. Most non-mining endconsumers in the world have been waiting to buy a GPU for 9+ months and probably need to wait another year for the then next generation.</p>

      • andyhi

        01 July, 2021 - 2:49 pm

        <p>China’s crack down on crypto mining and many 1st world counties slowly getting back to normal should make a huge dent in the supply &amp; demand dynamic over the next couple of months…. I just hope the Silicon suppliers and GPU + card manufacturers don’t use this price gouging experiment as justification for significant GPU MSRP increases over the long haul.</p>

  • sammyd710730

    30 June, 2021 - 11:35 pm

    <p>I did the 2 year All Access plan for the Series S since I wasn’t able to find an X anywhere. At this point I figure I’ll ride out the 2 year plan, and then re-evaluate and see what Microsoft’s plan is at that point. I feel like the Series X is going to be around for quite awhile considering the masses won’t be able to get their hands on it until it’s 3rd or 4th year.</p>

  • scovious

    01 July, 2021 - 12:15 am

    <p>If Microsoft just finished upgrading Xbox Cloud Gaming to Series X then wouldn’t that mean that more SOCs are being used toward the making of consoles? So it’s got to be a little better than before…</p>

  • ikjadoon

    01 July, 2021 - 1:12 am

    <p>Ah blah. The XSX exclusives are also still rare, accessing to friends trying to buy—unsuccessfully. </p>

  • dftf

    01 July, 2021 - 6:09 am

    <p>So… how is it that a global chip-shortage is still affecting <em>Xbox Series</em> production (not to mention <em>PS5</em>, new cars, certain medical equipment, smartphones and, currently to a lesser-degree, the <em>Nintendo Switch)</em>. Yet when it comes to <em>Windows 11</em>, the industry is apparently ready to supply possibly hundreds of millions of new devices?</p><p><br></p><p>Maybe <em>Windows 11 </em>has been in-the-planning for a lot-longer than everyone thought and the industry has had years of notice to start stock-pilling?</p>

    • vladimir

      Premium Member
      01 July, 2021 - 7:18 am

      <p>my guess is that they are manipulating the truth, according to what is their convenience</p>

  • MoopMeep

    01 July, 2021 - 7:03 am

    <p>I randomly check Best Buy and it doesn’t seem to hard to get the s, that seems to show up every now and then and it shows up long enough to pick it up. The x seems harder, Best Buy had it for a bit on their website on tuesday.</p>

  • vladimir

    Premium Member
    01 July, 2021 - 7:17 am

    <p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">to be honest, I am not sure we are getting the whole truth from Microsoft here. They recently revealed in the Epic trial that they sell all their consoles at a loss. If this is the case, what is their incentive to sell more? They just want to sell gamepass, not consoles.</span></p><p><span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">Moreover, it seems they are especially difficult to find in the US. Here in Sweden, you can get a Series X rather easily, no need to wait for more than 1-2 weeks. The Series S is in stock everywhere and most people would buy that one if it wasn’t for the absurd storage constraints</span></p>

    • vladimir

      Premium Member
      01 July, 2021 - 7:20 am

      <p>btw, the lackluster sales due to scarce availability also give them the perfect explanation for stock-buyers. The shortage is really a win-win situation for Microsoft</p>

    • murray judy

      01 July, 2021 - 11:49 am

      <p><em style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">… what is their incentive to sell more?</em></p><p><br></p><p>The manufacturing cost of most electronic devices goes down as total units produced increases. It’s called the <em>learning curve</em>.</p>

    • lyndonsphere

      01 July, 2021 - 7:38 pm

      <p>It is the same reason that they do that in other markets too. If you buy an xbox, then any games, xbox gold, and gamepass ultimate will earn them some money. Selling the xbox for as cheap as possible helps greatly increase their software revenue from games. Without xbox consoles there would likely be no gamepass, and games would not be produced for PC like they are. Didn’t people used to complain that Microsoft and others would often ignore PC gamers and mainly release to consoles with only crappy port. I’m a PC gamer, but I also realize that console gaming has helped develop the gaming industry into what it is today.</p>

  • wp7mango

    01 July, 2021 - 10:45 am

    <p>I’m still waiting to buy an X-series to run MS Flight Simulator</p>

    • bettyblue

      01 July, 2021 - 12:28 pm

      <p>I can’t wait for it to drop. I have the Thrustmaster Xbox joystick/throttle already that I use for Ace Combat 7 which is supposed to work with it.</p>

  • andyhi

    01 July, 2021 - 2:29 pm

    <p>Scored a Series X from Target over the weekend after <span style="color: rgb(0, 0, 0);">missing out from restocks at Best Buy and Amazon over the last week or so.</span></p><p><br></p><p>It was the only one showing in stock from the ~15 or so targets within an hours driving distance. </p><p><br></p><p>Had a bit of buyers remorse given Im not an avid gamer and only purchased in advance of the next Forza Horizon release later in the year. </p><p><br></p><p>Only time will tell, but perhaps it’s a good thing I pulled the trigger.</p>

  • bls

    Premium Member
    01 July, 2021 - 2:54 pm

    <p>Sounds like the perfect time to sell my new-in-box XBox One 500gb :)</p>

  • bkkcanuck

    01 July, 2021 - 3:06 pm

    <p>At this rate, by the time it is to be release the ‘next’ console… this version will have sold very little due to supply constraints and cause them not to recoup investment into it :o</p>

  • innitrichie

    02 July, 2021 - 12:43 am

    <p>Not a problem for me.</p><p>I’m still happy gaming on my Nokia 950 XL powered by Windows 10 Mobile.</p><p><br></p>

    • dftf

      02 July, 2021 - 5:45 am

      <p>How about installing <em>Windows 11 </em>on that <em>Lumia 950 XL</em>: youtube.com/watch?v=YSaJfudt8S4 ?</p><p><br></p><p>People have also created a hacked-install that allows it to go onto a <em>Raspberry Pi 4</em>, too…</p>

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