The hunt is on…
Continuing
our Xbox 360 theme for today rather than referring to the termination of small
furry creatures, (but who knows, maybe a slavering pack of hounds will do you some
favours this evening), here’s a brief round up of some ways to get your hands
on the highly coveted next-gen console that don’t involve riots or armed
robbery. Sadly there’s no sure-fire way to be certain that you’ll get your
hands on a first wave unit; a global shortage of the consoles resulted in an
immediate sell out of the 500,000 or so allocated to the US. Although
there has been no official figures, it is rumoured that around 300,000 will
come to Europe and roughly 50,000 of which will reach the UK. More
worryingly, even if you pre ordered a 360 the very second you caught wind of
its existence there’s still no guarantee that you’ll be one of the lucky ones
come Friday morning.
If you haven’t
pre-ordered you have two options remaining; either you can indulge in one of
the many tempting offers on eBay, some of which can be picked up already, or
you can join us in our midnight vigil. Anyone considering the eBay route should
note that Microsoft has opted for a region locked approach once more, so any
games and movies you want to play on the device will have to come from the
States. Also beware the risks involved in handing over large quantities of cash
to strangers touting photos of an Xbox that they have obviously copied from
Amazon. Obviously all the sales on eBay have a heavily marked up price
reflecting the huge demand, but if you’re one that badly it might be worth it
and heck, these sellers have kids to feed too.
Finally you
can try to find a friendly gaming/electrical retailer who is opening late
tonight or early tomorrow morning. We’ve been search for some time for anywhere
having a dedicated late night opening, however the scarcity of the device has
meant that many stores are only looking to satisfy pre-orders at this stage.
This is coupled with the fact that anyone who knows of somewhere selling the
console isn’t willing to encourage the rest of Joe Public to spoil their chances.
Good luck out there.
**Update: As of 4:45 pm, one of our more intrepid writers has taken to the rainy streets of Edinburgh to queue for a 360. If you happen to be passing later tonight, it might be worth kicking him to make sure hypothermia hasn’t completely set in.
