To the dismay of prospective Xbox Series X/S owners, Microsoft revealed that the console's stock shortages are not going away anytime soon. The news came in a quarterly earnings call yesterday evening, and- while not entirely surprising to hear - it's still surely disheartening for those still trying to get their foot in the current-gen door.
Both Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S have been in short supply since their launches in November due to different factors, ranging from the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic disrupting manufacturing chains to relentless scalpers buying up all available stock at retailers around the world. Many players who still have not found a console were holding out hope that the new year would bring new inventory, but it looks like that may not be the case for many Xbox customers.
Yesterday evening, during an earnings call transcribed by Seeking Alpha, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told investors that Xbox Series X/S supply will continue to be limited for the foreseeable future. After speaking on Microsoft's PC ventures, Nadella said, "In Gaming, we expect continued strong engagement on the Xbox platform and significant demand for the Xbox series X and S that will still be constrained by supply." Neither Nadella, nor the other Microsoft executives on the call gave an approximation as to when the console would be more readily available.
Between this news and the backlash Microsoft received for attempting to raise Xbox Live Gold prices, one might think that the company is experiencing something of a slump. However, that couldn't be further from the truth. In the same call, Nadella was also revealed that Xbox Game Pass now has 18 million subscribers, and that the Xbox Series X/S launch was the biggest Microsoft console launch of all time. While COVID-19 and high demand have combined to cause problems for Xbox players, it appears that Xbox itself is having an great time.
Microsoft has been open about shifting its approach with Xbox, aiming to get more people into its Game Pass ecosystem by any means, whether that be via console, PC, or mobile. That means that while the gaming giant's shortage issues aren't likely ideal for the tech company, it's nowhere near devastating for its earnings potential. Of course, this is not suggesting that Microsoft does not care about the Xbox Series X/S at all, because it does. Still, the factors that have contributed to the console's shortages are ones that are out of Microsoft's control, so there really is not much the company can do about the Xbox Series X/S shortages for the time being.
Source: Seeking Alpha
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