Hey summer, it would be great if you could stop trying to get us to go and play outside and drop a few more Xbox Series X restock updates our way soon.
Although this hasn't been a great month for finding an Xbox Series X online or in stores, we're used to that by now. But why on earth are we practically tripping over fresh PS5 restocks? By comparison, we've only seen the Series X show up at Best Buy this month, along with a brief flutter of supply at the Microsoft store.
That's not to say you can just go and buy a PS5 at will, of course - they're still selling out in minutes. However, we're getting several drops a week now. And some bright spark at Amazon finally made a decent attempt at beating the scalper bots in the UK by making the PS5 an Amazon Prime member exclusive (which is kind of smart and grabs the fledgling company a few more subscribers to its speedy delivery service/streaming platform). We haven't seen Amazon adopt the same strategy for the Xbox Series X, though.
Check for Xbox Series X restocks here:
- USA Xbox Series X: Amazon | Microsoft | Best Buy | Walmart | Target | GameStop | B&H Photo | Newegg | Lenovo
- US Xbox Series S: Amazon | Best Buy | Microsoft | B&H Photo | Target | GameStop |Newegg
- UK Xbox Series X: Amazon | Very | Argos | Microsoft | Currys | John Lewis | Box
- UK Xbox Series S: Box | Amazon | Currys | Microsoft | AO | Very
Given what a rare sight the Series X (and even the Series S sidekick) has been of late, it would seem that Microsoft simply isn't getting enough supply into retailers from its manufacturing bases. Sure, Microsoft might not quite have the same overall hardware expertise and reputation as Sony, but we can't imagine it's not capable of bagging a similar amount of semiconductors - that crucial component that's one of the main causes behind the lack of consoles since last year.
It's getting to the point where surely Jeff Bezos and Elon Musk must be thinking of ditching all this space nonsense and pouring their funds into semiconductor factories instead. Come on Jeff, do you really think Amazon Luna is going to be your winning ticket in the gaming world anyway?
For the first few months of the year, Sony and Microsoft's consoles would hit warehouse shelves with similar regularity. But lately, there's no doubt that we're seeing the PS5 making many more appearances and at a surprisingly wide range of retailers too.
You might well argue that the PS5 is the more in-demand console, and the cold, hard math says you're absolutely right. When looking at search metrics (how many people are Googling a specific term), 'PS5 restock' gets around 1.5 million searches in the US per month, compared to around 300,000 for 'Xbox Series X restock'. Yet on the other hand, that Xbox number compared to other hard-to-find items is still a massive crowd of people, so saying nobody's interested in the Series X compared to the PS5 doesn't hold up as an excuse for the slow supply.
And let's face it, the Microsoft E3 showcase - and non-stop Xbox Game Pass announcements - saw the company absolutely smash it out of the park (ok, Sony couldn't even be bothered turning up). So Microsoft has some fantastic momentum as far as goodwill and upcoming games go. But it risks letting that all fizzle out if it doesn't get its production into gear.
If you have been able to bag a console, or just want to be ready for when you do, be sure to take a look at a few of our other guides likes the best Xbox Series X headsets, best TV for Xbox Series X, or even best Xbox Series X monitor. And if you're planning on picking up Game Pass, you'll want the best Xbox Series X external hard drive too.
