Xbox Series X and S
Credit: Microsoft
The odd thing about a pre-order situation like the one that we just had with the Xbox Series X and S is that a complete disaster not only looks a whole lot like a wild success, the two are in many ways one in the same. On the one hand, you’ve got collapsing retailers and disappointed customers, on the other you’ve got a manufacturer that is selling a new product as quickly as it can make them. Regardless, the end result is the same: the Xbox Series X and S, like the NVIDIA RTX 3080, 3070, and PS5 before them, sold out instantaneously. But really, you shouldn’t be worried if you didn’t sneak in a pre-order.
The thing is, neither the PS5 nor the new Xbox consoles are really necessary on day one. All the major games this fall are coming out on previous generation consoles as well, and there’s not really any major experience you’re going to be missing by not having a new console right away. This is the smoothest console transition the industry has ever had, and it’s become clear that neither first nor third-party publishers have any interest in locking millions of PS4 and Xbox One owners out of games.
The big games this fall contain names like Cyberpunk 2077, Assassins’ Creed: Valhalla, Call of Duty: Black Ops: Cold War. All will be available on older hardware.
So if these things aren’t necessary on day one, you might still want to have one just for the sake of having a new, pretty thing. That’s fine! In that case, you also shouldn’t feel all that bad about missing out on one today. It’s entirely possible that there will be more opportunities to pre-order before release, and there will almost definitely be more stock on release day—I’ve checked with Microsoft about when to expect restock, and will update with a response.
Waiting is a pain, naturally. But this generation, even moreso than last one, looks like it’s going to make it easier. If you want a new console, I’d bet you’re going to be able to get one in advance of the holidays with a little bit of persistence. If you’re on the fence and caught swept up in pre-order fever, know that you’ll be totally alright waiting even a couple of months to a year if you didn’t grab one of these things.
Pre-orders are madness, they always are. Not only is there a ton of pent-up demand, there’s an expectation that these things will sell out that drives a huge amount of resale traffic and unsavory bots picking up all the available stock. But this thing, like so many things, will get much better with just time.
