Have console launches always been chaotic?

[Yoshimax]

Still this has allowed them to copy the online functions of the 360 and a half arsed effort on copying the Wii's controller functions.

might just be me tho

They have nowhere NEAR copied the online functionality of the 360 - And they will never, ever catch up with xbox live now MS have invested millions & millions into making it what it is today.

No, launches haven't always been mental - I don't think it's fair to bung 360 in here because MS promised a global launch and spent a lot of money & effort to deliver that as promised and there was still more units than Sony have mustered for what can only be described as the equivalent of buying a big ****-off ?50 rocket, lighting it, standing back and watching the fuse burn out before it makes a little farting noise and does nothing else.

Looks ilke the nintendo are on the money as well.

[NekoFever]

Every launch I can remember has had stories of madness and camping outside shops for days (also madness, I suppose) but it's certainly become worse recently. Back in that Edge with the feature on launches there was that story of the attempted suicide when a Japanese guy found out that his PS2 preorder wouldn't be honoured.

One of the main problems is just having enough stock. I can't think of any other industry where a new hardware launch attracts such mania but at the same time I can't think of any that consistently fails to meet demand to such an extent. It's unavoidable when they have to put together expensive hardware with hundreds of components and have to meet a deadline so as not to fall behind the competition (again, to an extent that doesn't really exist with other hardware industries).

The new phenomena has been eBay reselling, though. I can remember it as far back as the PS2 but the 360 was the one when it suddenly went ape****, and unfortunately it looks like as long as supplies are limited it's not going anywhere. I miss the time when the people who bought the new consoles for retail price were the ones who actually aimed to play them.

[Kongster]

You only have to read through the preorder threads to see how much chaos and stress people are experiencing to try and secure a console for launch.

There isn't a sole reason for this. It's a number of things really such as hype, shortages, people trying to buying as many as they can to flog on e-bay and the Christmas factor, too.

[rumbletum]

Was discussing this with a chap at work today, how I bought a SNES on launch and how easy it was. It was actually about 3 days after launch, and me and a mate drove into town, walked into Woolworths and both bought one with ever considering we'd have trouble getting one.

The only slight problem is I remember a couple of the (four?) launch titles not being very common for a few weeks.

And also Mario Kart became a bit scarce for a while after it was released

[Leon Retro]

Mainstream Gaming+Ebay Profit Mongers= CHAOS!


I agree that gaming has become far more popular, and therefore the demand is far higher. This horrible Ebay sellers buying-up a big percentage of the machines doesn't help!

Consoles are more complex too, which makes them harder to produce, which results in less machines being available every week.

I would say the situation is worse these days, but the reason people get stressed is simply because they aren't used to having such troubles buying a machine.

Things aren't going to change though, so gamers will have to get used to chaotic console launches.

Something needs to be done about the Ebay sellers though!

[Rebelli0n]

Last generation i don't recall things being quite this hectic, only the PS2 really approached whats going on now. It was the first time i remember the 'buy to ebay' phenomena rearing it's head.

I didn't get a ps2 until about a year after launch, but i got a GC at launch, without pre-ordering, just walking into a shop and buying one as normal which was a pleasant experience. No madness there.

The xbox seemed reasonably popular and a few shops had sold out, but i had no problems again buying from a shop that day. It required a bit of running about, but reasonably painless overall.

Going back to the previous gen, same thing, PS1 from a shop, day1, no preorder, although i had to hunt about to get wipeout. Although saying that i do think i got one of the last systems they had that day.

The 360 was the first system i ever bothered to pre-order, and such getting it was reasonably hassle free, apart from finding a bloody vga cable. So i skipped some of the insanity there, but i was mindful of lugging the unit about town that someome might be tempted to nab it. The 360 launch is the only one i've 'participated in' that has seemed slightly chaotic.

It seems the extremes of launch day madness surround sony's launches.
Although they are the market leader, and may have genuine supply issues, you can't help but feel sony want it that way.