Xbox 360 shortages expected on debut day in Europe
{{date|November 30, 2005}}

The [[w:Xbox 360|Xbox 360]] arrives on shelves in Europe on Friday, but many shoppers may likely leave stores empty handed.

It is expected that at least 300,000 consoles are being made available for the European launch later this week, with only 50,000 destined for the [[w:United Kingdom|UK]].  Stores are reporting that they may not even have enough stock to fulfill all of their pre-orders.

Launched in the US last Tuesday, the Xbox 360 sold out at many retailers in a matter of hours.  The console can be found on [[w:EBay|eBay]] however, although most prices are significantly marked up from retail, some as high as $700 [[w:USD|USD]].

The console launches worldwide in two versions: a standard version, costing £279.99, and a core version at £209.99.  The Core version does not include a hard disk which is required to play games created for the original [[w:Xbox|Xbox]].

The Xbox 360 will be launched in [[w:Japan|Japan]] on December 10.  This is the first time a console has been launched in the three major markets (North America, Europe and Japan) in such a short time.

== Sources ==
*{{source|url=http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/technology/4484376.stm
|title=UK shortages of Xbox 360 expected
|author=
|pub=BBC News Online
|date=November 30, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://egm.1up.com/do/newsStory?cId=3145828
|title=The Post-Launch Xbox 360 Ebay Auctions
|author=
|pub=1UP.com
|date=November 22, 2005}}

*{{source|url=http://www.xbox365.com/news.cgi?id=GGPPPuuLHG11291956
|title=Xbox 360’s Arriving By End of Week or Weekend
|author=
|pub=XBOX365
|date=November 29, 2005}}

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[[Category:Science and technology]]
[[Category:Games]]
[[Category:Europe]]
The Xbox 360 arrives on shelves in Europe on Friday, but many shoppers may likely leave stores empty handed.

It is expected that at least 300,000 consoles are being made available for the European launch later this week, with only 50,000 destined for the UK.  Stores are reporting that they may not even have enough stock to fulfill all of their pre-orders.

Launched in the US last Tuesday, the Xbox 360 sold out at many retailers in a matter of hours.  The console can be found on eBay however, although most prices are significantly marked up from retail, some as high as $700 USD.

The console launches worldwide in two versions: a standard version, costing £279.99, and a core version at £209.99.  The Core version does not include a hard disk which is required to play games created for the original Xbox.

The Xbox 360 will be launched in Japan on December 10.  This is the first time a console has been launched in the three major markets (North America, Europe and Japan) in such a short time.

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Science and technology Games Europe