Gripping the controller of the coveted Xbox 360, Jesus Sanchez watched as the Raiders clashed with the Broncos on a high-definition flat-screen TV. The details in the "Madden NFL 06" video game looked so sharp that it was almost like seeing an actual football game.
Sanchez was mesmerized, but unfortunately for him the 360 wasn't his. He was playing a demo machine at a Best Buy store in Atwater Village because, like countless other frustrated gamers, he hasn't been able to get one of his own.
For The Record
Los Angeles Times Wednesday February 01, 2006 Home Edition Main News Part A Page 2 National Desk 2 inches; 77 words Type of Material: Correction
Xbox shortage -- Two photographs that ran Sunday with an article in Business about a scarcity of Xbox 360 game machines were incorrectly credited. A photo on page C1 showing game enthusiasts camped out in front of a store before the console's release in November was taken by Kiichiro Sato of the Associated Press, not by The Times' Ken Hively. A photo on page C5, a close-up of the Xbox 360, was taken by Hively, not Sato.
More than two months after its debut, Microsoft Corp.'s newest console remains hard to find.
To be sure, temporary shortages after the launch of a new machine are common in the video game business. But Microsoft's continued inability to meet demand for Xbox 360 has irritated customers and disappointed video game publishers, raising questions about whether the company has squandered an opportunity to grab market share before consumer electronics giant Sony Corp. releases its PlayStation 3 later this year.
For its part, Microsoft said it expected the shortage to ease in coming weeks, thanks to an additional manufacturing plant coming on line, and the balance between supply and demand should stabilize before the end of June.
June may be too late, according to some Wall Street analysts.
"Microsoft's first-mover advantage is eroding if it takes them very long to get the first 5 million boxes out," said Michael Pachter, an analyst at Wedbush Morgan Securities in Los Angeles. "If 4 million show up in the month of June and Sony launches in the month of June, there's not much of an advantage" for Microsoft.
Whether gamers like Sanchez, a 28-year-old art student from Santa Clarita, will forgo plans to purchase an Xbox 360 to hold out for a PlayStation 3 remains to be seen. Sanchez said his wife wanted to buy him an Xbox 360 for Christmas, but couldn't find one.
"I heard the PlayStation 3 is coming out pretty soon too, but I haven't really compared it yet," said Sanchez. He said he was waiting to hear more about the Sony console before deciding whether it was "worth the wait."
Microsoft and Sony are locked in a battle for dominance in home entertainment. The Redmond, Wash.-based software behemoth, still relatively new to the hardware scene, hopes to use its $399 console to overtake market leader Sony.
