Time for a little 'investigation' here in Rotterdam (Holland), one week after the launch of Xbox. We went to all the stores that sell games, and asked them how many Xboxes they have sold and how many they still have in stock. Also, we checked to see if they have an official GameCube demo display. Have a look at the official results below.

Unfortunately, only one store had an official demo display, and Future Zone just had a playable Japanese GameCube. However, most of the stores (or at least the big ones) said they would get one soon.

The stores didn't really know the price of the system yet. They all said 'somewhere between 250 and 270'. Mediamarkt already knows their price, which is probably lower than the rest of the stores, but again, they weren't allowed to say anything.

When asked what they expected of the GameCube, the general stores said they thought Xbox would do better. Of course, we heard the usual "I'm 21 and I'm not going to play a game like Luigi anymore". However, people who did know what they were talking about said that it would be a close match, and that Nintendo would have their own public, as well as Microsoft and Sony.


Conclusion
Apparently, Microsoft's Xbox isn't selling really well yet here in Rotterdam. We don't know of course if this also counts for the rest of Holland and Europe, but if that's the case, then Xbox has some problems. Not that we mind of course :)
The store guys who knew something about gaming, were pretty confident that Nintendo would sell good. They didn't expect any lines in the morning of May 3rd, "cause European gamers aren't hardcore". We'll prove them wrong! Let's all grab our sleeping bags and sleep before their doors on May 2nd. We'll bring some beers too, for free!


Funny lines
Of course, we had some funny encounters that you don't want to miss. Here are some funny lines that we were told today.

Cube Europe: 'What do you think the price of the GameCube will be?'
Store: 'The what?'
Cube Europe: 'The GameCube, Nintendo's new console...'
Store: 'Huh?'

Other Store:'We will know the price when the GameCube comes out, it depends on when that is.'
Cube Europe (laughing):'Duh, May 3rd!'
Store guy looks at us pretty angry.

Next Store: 'European gamers aren't hardcore. The European gaming industry isn't hardcore. Sega brought VGA to the Dreamcast, now that's really hardcore. Capcom is also pretty hardcore. You see that guy? (points at a tramp with a grey beard). He's hardcore too.'

Just look at the pic of the 175 piled Xbox's at Mediamarkt and you'll have a good laugh.


Pictures
Here are some pictures we have snapped for you with Tim's digital spy camera. The first one if of the official GameCube demo display, the other two are piles of Xboxes.