300,000 Xbox 360s for Euro Launch

European gamers should expect similar scenes in retail stores across the continent on Friday as seen in the United States the week before. That's because Microsoft plans to only have about 300,000 units of its new Xbox 360 console available at launch, according to a company executive. Chris Lewis, Xbox's European head, told a German weekly on Sunday that there was a good chance the console would sell out across Europe as well.

The console sold out in most places across the U.S. within hours, and eager gamers are paying up to several times the retail price of the system on Internet auction sites. Microsoft is the first to release its next-generation gaming consoles; Sony is expected to launch the PS3 in spring 2006, with the Nintendo Revolution following soon after.