Microsoft executive Phil Spencer says the company is looking to manage its hardware yield so that customers who don’t preorder will still be able to buy a console.
Microsoft executive Phil Spencer has said the company is holding back stock of the Xbox One so that more consoles will be available in stores at launch.
Speaking to address rumours that Microsoft was having difficulty producing the machines, Spencer said to Game Informer that “you want people to be able to walk in the store and buy one on day one, so you’re trying to manage the inventory that isn’t pre-sold.”
“It’s not a yield problem; it’s us trying to manage the hardware side,” Spencer added. “I want parents who don’t think about preordering electronics to be able to walk in and have a chance to find a box. There might be a line, but I don’t want it to be that if you didn’t preorder in September, you can’t get one. That doesn’t feel like a great consumer experience.”
Spencer would not talk about specific numbers, but he did say the Xbox One stocks should be more available in stores than Xbox 360 units were when it launched in 2005. “Availability should feel a lot better than it did for 360,” said Spencer. “If people want to pick up more controllers and games, they’ll be there. We feel really good about our preorder number, and we’re managing it through allocation rather than demand.”
While Microsoft has made efforts to entice customers to preorder an Xbox One, with FIFA 14 and Forza 5 bundles in Europe and a commemorative Day One Edition, Spencer says the focus is on making sure the hardware will be available in stores this November. “[Preorder] isn’t the business. It’s way more important to me what happens when people walk in the store. The business is selling consoles.”
The Xbox One will launch on November 22.
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