After quickly selling out earlier this year, Microsoft dropped a limited number of its 25th Anniversary Xbox Series X consoles for sale this week–aaaaannnd they’re already gone. Easily the best-looking Xbox Series X console thanks to its transparent green case, it looks like the majority of people looking to get one of these are out of luck, unless they’re willing to pony up and pay extra for one of these consoles on sites like eBay, where they’re currently being listed at next-gen console prices.
Naturally, fans who missed out are livid, and online, they’re calling out Xbox’s first-come first-serve business model for selling the console, as opposed to a method like a lottery system that would even the playing field. Several disappointed buyers say that scalpers and bots go to all the remaining stock first, as they claim that it was sold out within seconds once again. People are especially mad at GameStop, as its dynamic pricing system had the console up for sale at the eye-watering price of $4,950, not including tax.
Over on eBay, beggars can’t be choosers, as people continue to pay an inflated price for this Xbox Series X. Sales of it are averaging around $2,500 per console, a significant mark-up from the $900 MSRP of the device. In comparison, both Nintendo and Sony have implemented lottery and queue-based reservation systems in the past, specifically designed to thwart scalpers and filter out automated bots. Last year for the rollout of the Switch 2 in Japan, Nintendo utilized an official lottery system via the My Nintendo Store, which saw over 2 million people enter.
In western markets, Nintendo offered a direct invitation queue via regional Nintendo Accounts for verified active account holders. Sony’s PS5 Pro has also become a hot item ahead of the launch of Grand Theft Auto 6, and recently, Sony instituted an anti-scalping lottery system via the official Sony Store in Japan. To qualify for the draw, entrants were required to have a Japanese PlayStation Network account and a verified history of at least 60 hours of playtime on a PS4 or PS5 across the preceding two years.
But with Xbox hardware sales reaching historic lows recently? Microsoft probably isn’t too worried about who buys its consoles, so long as it sells them.
