I’m angry about the Halo Infinite Xbox Series X

I'm angry about the Halo Infinite Xbox Series Ten

Xbox Series X – Halo Infinite Limited Edition

(Epitome credit: Microsoft)

Yesterday Microsoft revealed a agglomeration of information about Halo Infinite at Gamescom, including the reveal of a brand new, express edition Halo Infinite-themed Xbox Series Ten. It's just like a regular Series X, but with a special Halo-themed pattern.

To put it mildly, this rather annoyed me. And I say that equally a long-time Halo fan, and one that has a hefty collection of Halo themed Xbox consoles.

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There are quite a few reasons why I'm annoyed at the launch of this console. The first is entirely my own error, since I already bought the boring blackness standard Xbox Serial 10 back in March.

Originally my plan had been to await out Halo developers 343i, and run into whether they would exist launching a Halo-themed console. After all, Microsoft has done this four times in the past for Halos 3, 4, 5, and Accomplish.

halo consoles — Halo is pretty cool, I guess... (Prototype credit: Tom Pritchard/Tom's Guide)

Then I had the chance to actually buy an Xbox Serial 10 every bit an impulse purchase. During i of the many Xbox Series X restocks, I found a local retailer had a unmarried console in stock. I'd have to drive 20 miles to selection it up, but that would only take almost ninety minutes out of my twenty-four hours if the traffic was skilful.

It was an exceptionally lucky find, especially since I hadn't been keeping a close eye on Xbox Series X restocks. I never really tried to become a next-gen console, later on seeing all the burdensome disappointment from people that were. Then after some speedy deliberation I decided to pull the trigger and do it.

My logic was that Microsoft has had a nightmare of a time keeping the Xbox Series X in stock, especially with the global chip shortage. So why would they divert precious resources to creating a special edition console with a fancy design?

Plus, even if Microsoft did release one, what were the odds that I was really going to be able to buy one?

Microsoft messed up as well

The fact I jumped the gun and bought an Xbox Series X isn't the only reason I'm upset. I feel a piffling chip embarrassed and foolish, though that's a first-world problem that doesn't really matter that much.

My master issue now is that Microsoft has apparently learned absolutely cypher from the past twelvemonth of trying to sell Xbox consoles.

For starters, Microsoft made the mistake of opening upwards pre-orders immediately after the console was announced, and naturally information technology sold out pretty much instantly. In other words, you had to have been watching Microsoft's Gamescom presentation to be in with a gamble of actually getting the panel.

Sadly, it turns out fifty-fifty those people struggled to fill their orders, thank you to our skilful former friends the scalpers. And by friends, I mean the opposite.

Halo infinite xbox ebay — (Image credit: eBay)

A quick look on eBay shows that there are already dozens of listings for the Halo Infinite Xbox Series 10, with asking prices well over $1,000 in a lot of cases. In fact, at the time of writing, the cheapest price we saw on eBay was $750. That price was on an auction with six bids, and well-nigh seven days left to become.

A lot of those listings seem to be shipping from Commonwealth of australia besides, which means you have to take shipping and potential customs or tax charges into account when you purchase.

And nosotros've already seen that it doesn't accept to be this fashion. Valve managed to make the process of pre-ordering a Steam Deck a lot less painful past limiting the reservations of consoles to people with existing Steam IDs. And Steam Decks are still available to reserve.

The Steam Deck pre-order system was non perfect, and you currently have to wait until Q2 2022 to become your hands on one, but y'all still tin. And eBay is pretty devoid of scalper listings, suggesting someone has actually washed something well-nigh the sketchy earth of panel reselling.

Head over to the Halo subreddit and you'll notice a lot of people loudly complaining that Microsoft should have done something similar with the Halo space panel. And they do have a indicate.

Bottom line

I have an Xbox Series X and I'll yet be able to savor Halo Infinite in 4K HDR when it arrives on December 8. I would have liked to have had the Halo edition console, but the circumstances but aren't there.

I certainly have no plans to spend $549/£479 on a Serial Ten console when there is admittedly nothing incorrect with mine. And if history has taught me anything, it's that these consoles volition somewhen be sold on as gamers upgrade their systems. Give it a couple of years and I should be able to pick i up for significantly less than the MSRP, and proudly display information technology on my shelf.

Still, I wish Microsoft (and eBay) would exist a picayune more than proactive in dealing with scalpers, though. I doubt I'm the merely person who didn't wait it out and see if a Halo Serial X console would arrive.

And those people now accept the problem of non having an Xbox Series X to play Halo Infinite on. Sure, the game will work on the Xbox One, or the Xbox Series S, only it isn't quite the same. After six years of waiting for the 6th Halo game, people who want to play the championship with the best possible film should be able to.

Sadly, information technology seems some people may not become that selection.

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Tom is the Tom's Guide's Automotive Editor, which means he can usually be found knee joint deep in stats the latest and best electrical cars, or checking out some sort of driving gadget. Information technology's long way from his days as editor of Gizmodo United kingdom, when pretty much everything was on the table. He's commonly establish trying to squeeze another giant Lego set onto the shelf, draining very large cups of coffee, or complaining that Ikea won't let him buy the stuff he really needs online.