A couple of Xbox 360 news stories from yesterday... First, German site Spiegel Online (later followed by The Inquirer and Gamesindustry.biz) has claimed that 300,000 Xbox 360 consoles have now been distributed to shops throughout Europe - a figure apparently confirmed by Microsoft exec, Chris Lewis.
Lewis also intimated that 360 was expected to sell out on the December 2 launch day. We'll see. Over in the US, where units do seem to be hard to come by, a healthy Ebay market has sprung up, with premium packages shifting at over $800 (double the official retail price).
Obviously, none of those paying over the odds for their machines have been put off by reports of malfunctioning hardware. Don't fret, though - Gamesindustry.biz has reported on theories whizzing around the community as to the causes of these crashes (overheating PSUs apparently - although Microsoft denied this) and how to sort them out. It's fun to see how, these days, apparent hardware problems are discovered, discussed and 'resolved' online with almost no official input from the console manufacturer.
User forums have long been the most reliable form of Tech Support for Macs and PCs. As games consoles become more powerful and complex, it stands to reason that they will follow suit.
