The Xbox One Day One Edition has been sold out for weeks, including on Microsoft’s own site and stores. So when Best Buy re-opened Xbox One Day One Edition pre orders today, would-be next-gen console owners let out a collective sigh of relief. The Xbox One Day One Edition pre orders at Best Buy aren’t just for bundles, either, although those are available. If you get in now, you can nab a stand-alone console as well.
Best Buy may be known for its HDTVs, computers, laptops and movie selection, but it does a mean bit of business selling games and game consoles as well. The upcoming launch of Sony’s PlayStation 4 is only one month away, while Microsoft’s Xbox One is five weeks out. Those days — before Black Friday, no less — have been circled on retailers’ calendars for some time, as they’re bound to drive people into the stores in droves. With today’s announcement, that traffic will get even higher.
Microsoft had indicated in September it was sold out of Xbox One pre-order units, leaving potential buyers scrambling. Amazon was dried up, Walmart and others were out, and it was looking like a whole bunch of store-front camping was in order. Several retailers, including Best Buy, are opening up at midnight on November 22 to sell Xbox One Day One Edition units.
But now that Best Buy has begun taking Xbox One Day One Edition pre orders again, those camping plans may not be necessary. The core Xbox One Day One Edition is available from Best Buy here, while a bundle is available here that includes an Xbox One Day One Edition, Call of Duty: Ghosts and a 12-month Xbox Live Gold subscription. Neither of the pre-orders has been artificially inflated in price. The stand-alone console is $499.99, while the bundle is an accurately priced $679.96.
If you don’t manage to secure an Xbox One Day One Edition, you’ll still likely get one of Microsoft’s next-gen consoles a few weeks later. The only difference between the launch-day system and the future hardware is a commemorative controller, special-edition packaging and a special Achievement attached to their Xbox Live gamertag. That’s cool for sure, but it’s not like you’re getting an extra game or packed-in controller.
Amazon has been sold out of Xbox One Day One Edition consoles for some time now. The e-tailer’s inventory of PS4 launch-day bundles and consoles is also long gone, with stand-alone systems selling-out first and four separate PS4 bundles also selling out. Neither Microsoft nor Sony has reported specific pre-order numbers, but both companies say their respective next-gen has seen more pre-orders than the current-gen Xbox 360 and PS3 saw prior to their release dates.