GameSpot is reporting a rumor that the Xbox 360 is intentionally being under-shipped by Microsoft to generate hysteria around their next-generation console. The marketing technique, known as targeted marketing, uses the selling point that people will buy items because they want to emulate another person.
GameSpot goes on to say that, “In the case of an Xbox 360 shortage, only the hardest-core Xbox fans will go to the lengths it would take to obtain the console, like waiting in line overnight. Eager to show off the coveted item they were luckily enough to get, these ubergeeks will become mini 360 evangelists, inviting all their friends over to play. Then those friends go out looking for the hard-to-find consoles, locate one, show it off to all their friends, who then all want to get one.”
According to the article, an anonymous Target clerk is reporting that each location is receiving only 10 to 50 units of the console. Each Target location has been instructed to preprint a giant “Sold Out” sign in advance to slap on the front window the minute the last next-gen machine is gone. You can read the full article by clicking this link.
