At midnight on Tuesday morning Microsoft has started selling its next generation Xbox 360 gaming console in the US.
In a well orchestrated marketing assault, the vendor had invited 3,500 hard core gamers to an airport hanger in a desert outside of Los Angeles for the official launch party. The company also had encouraged retailers to open their stores at midnight. Across the states more than 4,500 stores opened their doors for a midnight sale.
Stores quickly sold out of the gaming consoles or had taken advanced orders from consumers. Others handed out tickets and raffled off the privilege to buy one of the $300 core game systems or a $400 premium set with a wireless controller and hard drive
The highest price paid on Tuesday was $10,600. A gamer placed the bid in a 1-day auction ending Tuesday afternoon that promised overnight shipping so the new owner would receive his premium unit on Wednesday.
While the $10,600 is an exception, dozens of systems sold for around $3,000, mostly in auctions ending early in the US morning on Tuesday. One listing where an Xbox premium was sold for $3,050 advertised the system as: "Buy early and save money."
VNUnet