In transient: Shortages of Sony PlayStation 5 and Microsoft Xbox Series consoles are nothing new. Now, nonetheless, Xbox controllers are additionally changing into troublesome to search out. The international image is not clear, however the issue appears most acute in European international locations.
Microsoft confirmed to VGC this week that provide constraints are presently affecting Xbox wi-fi controllers. Customers throughout Europe say they’ve gotten scarce, and costs on-line have risen.
ResetEra discussion board posters from international locations together with the UK, Italy, the Netherlands, France, and Denmark report shortages. At UK retailer GAME, the £160 Elite Series 2 is the one official wi-fi Xbox controller accessible, as cheaper commonplace controllers seem bought out. On Amazon.co.uk, third-party sellers provide the Carbon Black Xbox controller for round £100 — a major value improve — and inventory direct from Amazon has been spotty to non-existent the previous few weeks. Dutch value historical past charts present the identical controller at round €100 – its highest sustained value ever.
The US would not appear to be in the identical state of affairs. Although many Xbox controllers on GameStop are solely accessible pre-owned, loads of new ones can be found. Supply additionally seems regular at BestBuy.com and the official US Xbox web site. The availability of the PlayStation 5’s DualSense controller additionally seems to be regular.
It’s onerous to say if the issue stems from the identical provide constraints hitting the Xbox Series consoles. Since 2020, provide chain issues have impacted many various electronics, however they have not considerably affected sport console equipment. Odder nonetheless, provide is barely low for one sort of controller and in a single area. Microsoft could not present info on when customers would possibly be capable of extra simply discover them.
