Xbox 360 Last-Minute Buyer Tips - 21.11.05

With the Xbox 360 due to fly off shelves at 12.01am tonight at thousands of retail stores across the U.S., those who said they'd skip the launch and get theirs later might be suddenly getting second thoughts when they imagine how left out they'll feel seeing their friends playing the brand new console tomorrow.

As such, Kotaku has compiled a last-minute guide for those who want to get their hands on a 360 early but haven't made any plans on exactly how to do it:

• Waiting in line is for sucks, but if you’re going to do it, bring some water, warm clothes, and your DS and PSP. • Try and return unwanted, bundled games and accessories. Some stores will allow this, and it does not make you an asshole. • Be prepared to spend upwards of $1,000, especially at stores that force bundles. • If you can’t be arsed to stand in line until midnight, try other stores tomorrow. • Small retailers have smaller crowds (and smaller allocations of inventory).

And the final, most important tip:

• Product shortages, while possible, are often engineered as a marketing stunt. (See: the Sony PSP, which “sold out” while thousands sat on store shelves.) If you don’t get an Xbox 360 in the next 24 hours, don’t worry. I promise you that Microsoft will be happy to sell you one for the next, say, four years. And if you wait, you’ll even be able to buy an Xbox 360 plus a game you actually want, not one of the many launch titles that will have to do.

Xbox 360 Last Minute Buyer’s Guide

Meanwhile, the new Xbox 360 Fanboy blog has compiled a list for us European gamers entitled 10 things to do in the next 10 days as we wait for the 360 launch to spread to our part of the world.

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