Microsoft 'working hard' to make Xbox Ones, has Lovefilm app
Microsoft's hulking new console has sold out, with the company promising more machines will be in the shops before Chrimbo.
The Xbox One went on sale in the UK and selected other countries around the world at midnight last night, with Charlie Pulbrook from Sidcup (pictured above) the first person in the queue at GAME's launch event in London's Trocadero.
Despite being £80 more expensive than its sworn rival the PlayStation 4 -- set to go on sale next Friday here in Britain -- Microsoft's hulking new console has sold out, with the company promising more machines will be in the shops before Chrimbo.
"We're working unbelievably hard to do that, to match demand," Microsoft corporate vice president Phil Harrison told GamesIndustry.biz. "I can only apologise in advance to anybody who is let down before Christmas, we don't want to lose a sale, clearly, and we'll work hard in our operations and our manufacturing supply chain and obviously with our retail partners to make sure we catch up as quickly as we can.
"We do have more stock coming in, we believe, before Christmas that retailers will be able to allocate in free supply and then it's just up to demand as to how quickly that disappears," he added.
Indeed, while retailers have no stock of the basic Xbox One, Amazon has a solid date of 13 December for the FIFA 14 special edition, which is just the basic Xbox One and a download code for the footie game. That'll set you back £450 and is available to preorder now.
"We've seen record pre-order numbers for the new generation consoles and looking at the initial response it's clear that sales will easily surpass that delivered at the Xbox 360 launch," Ian Chambers, chief digital officer at GAME, told CNET in a statement. "There is still huge demand and if you pre-order now we can still get your Xbox One to you in time for Christmas, so don't miss out!"
Meanwhile Amazon has announced its Lovefilm movie streaming service is available on the new console on day one. The app supports 1080p streams, Dolby 5.1 and works with all the Xbox's new interface features like 'snap' and 'fill', letting you stream stuff in a little window, chat while you're watching a film and lots more. You can even navigate with a dismissive wave of your hand or a haughty voice command, thanks to the Kinect camera.
While Sony's PS4 goes on sale next Friday, Amazon has thousands of them sitting in a warehouse in Milton Keynes. Thanks, staggered global launches!
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