Xbox Series X and S stock shortages will continue throughout the first quarter of next year, according to Microsoft CFO Tim Stuart.
Speaking at a recent virtual conference, Stuart said that the company’s supply chain would be working at full speed until then, but the supply and demand profiles are only expected to meet in the second quarter of next year.
“I think we’ll continue to see supply shortages as we head into the post-holiday quarter, so Microsoft’s Q3, calendar Q1,” Stuart said.
“We’ll have supply cranking over the next, four, five, six months,” said Stuart, “And that’s when I expect to see really that demand profile start to be met, which will be really, really great.”
“I think we’re going to start to see some real velocity kick up, which I’m really excited to see,” he said.
The company has said the new Xbox consoles comprised its biggest console launch yet, but Xbox head Phil Spencer has also noted that console gaming is becoming less important as the video game industry evolves.
In a recent interview with the Guardian, Spencer said that Microsoft’s strategy is now more focused on how many players it has rather than how many consoles it has sold.
“I think the people who want to pit us against Sony based on who sold the most consoles lose the context of what gaming is about today,” Spencer said.
“There are 3 billion people who play games on the planet today, but maybe [only] 200 million households that have a video game console. In a way, the console space is becoming a smaller and smaller percentage of the overall gaming pie.”
PlayStation 5 shipping delays
The new Xbox Series X and Series S have already launched in South Africa, with Sony’s new PlayStation 5 console rolling out today.
Stock of the PlayStation 5 is also limited, resulting in multiple rounds of pre-orders selling out in quick succession.
Gamefinity, the official distributor of PlayStation 5 consoles in South Africa, has warned local buyers that the expected delivery date for the next round of PlayStation 5 pre-orders is between 16 and 20 December.
This could be pushed back due to supply chain issues, however.
“The PlayStation 5 units are on their way to us from Europe,” the company said.
“Whilst we will make every effort to get your PlayStation 5 to you before Christmas, we, unfortunately, cannot guarantee this due to potential supply chain challenges into the country.
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Source: mybroadband
