A brand new Xbox rumor began this weekend that is now blown out of proportion, as regular. Late into the night on Saturday, Redditors flocked to the Xbox subreddit as somebody claimed their native Target had begun eradicating the Xbox part from their retailer. Then, varied weblog websites who appear oddly invested within the idea of “Xbox dying” ran with headlines primarily based on mentioned nameless studies. Likely buoyed by the truth that Costco not too long ago has decreased its Xbox providing, compounding expectations of a wider retail rout.
From this publish spawned quite a few tales the place different Redditors started sharing that they hadn’t seen inventory inside their native Target or Walmart shops for months. Counter studies got here in from varied sources, like Destin Legarie, who shared the next.
“I just called my local Walmart to ask if they were discontinuing or pulling Xbox stock. They said, ‘At least to my knowledge, I haven’t heard anything about like clearing inventory or anything like that. Or about being discontinued.” They also said still have them in stock.”
We also spoke to a Target employee at our end, who also discredited claims of a wider Xbox removal.
Even the legendary Xbox alumni Larry “Major” Nelson chimed in, stating, “All I know is I went to a couple of Target and GameStop stores this week, and did find Xbox hardware and games for sale.” I even did slightly investigative work by going to my native Target throughout an unrelated errand, the place I finished by to verify the cabinets.
Sure sufficient, the whole lot was there apart from the consoles themselves. When I checked their web site, I seen that not a single Xbox Series X was out there, however a number of Xbox Series S consoles had been for buy. But, Xbox inventory does are likely to fluctuate closely, as Microsoft appears to fabricate them virtually to order today.
The Xbox Series X is often bought out, as Microsoft appears notably fearful of making “over supply” conditions, for no matter motive. Some of that silicon is getting used to energy Xbox Cloud Gaming, nonetheless, which is one other angle seemingly at play right here.
At least at Walmart, we discovered each consoles in inventory. So wait, are they or aren’t they eliminating them? Well, Microsoft has given us an announcement, noting that Walmart and Target, at giant, are nonetheless “committed partners” for Xbox {hardware}.
“Target and Walmart, among other retailers, remain committed partners for Xbox consoles, accessories, and games.”
Misinformation is mostly been worse than ever because of AI, bots, and the like, however Microsoft has earned itself loads of negativity during the last 12 months. Where is all this misinformation coming from? And what is going to it take to show the tide?
“Target and Walmart, among other retailers, remain committed partners for Xbox consoles, accessories, and games.”
Microsoft
The battle forward for Microsoft started with itself
Twice this year, Microsoft has announced price increases across the board for all Xbox-branded consoles, largely due to tariffs. All variations of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have seen a jump in price from their original prices of $499/$299 to $649/$399 respectively.
Then, to add insult to injury, the Game Pass Ultimate price took a 50% hike this past month, which will take effect at the start of November. Since then, Microsoft has been dealing with a tidal wave of claims that Microsoft is exiting the hardware business entirely, much like Sega did at the turn of the millennium. This is hot on the heels of Microsoft’s summer reveal of a decade-long hardware partnership with AMD, for Xbox consoles.
Forcing another response, Microsoft chimed in, stating that it has no intentions to exit the Xbox console hardware business, and that seeking more information could refer to their latest partnership announcement with AMD.
Microsoft has always wrestled with its image, but it has reached new lows as of late. When you combine mass layoffs to fund investments into AI products only shareholders seem to want, aggressive price increases while posting record revenues and profits, and a sprint of unpopular business decisions — Xbox’s public image has taken a battering.
Microsoft’s Xbox Game Pass had a stellar year up to the price hikes, and its first party output has been better than ever, after years of struggling to find its footing. The Xbox Series X|S consoles were also among the best pieces of hardware the firm has ever put out, again, before price hikes. All you need is a cursory glance over replies to its social posts to get a sense of how up against it Xbox is with its image.
As one of the world’s most privileged companies, it deserves similarly powerful scrutiny. But, the sheer volume of misinformation and negativity out there risks turning others away from the ecosystem in its entirety — potentially harming customers, employees, and third-party developers alike who rely on Xbox’s continued existence. Microsoft needs to do more here.