Xboxist

Xbox 360 Completely Absent from Toys R Us Catalog in Spain

Millions of kids all over Europe today received their mega holiday Toys R Us holiday catalogs in the mail. While flipping through its pages looking for items to fill out their wish lists to Santa, there is one thing they won't be able to do - find any information about Microsoft's Xbox 360. We eagerly grabbed our catalog here in Spain when it arrived, and we noticed something strange in the video game section. While Sony has a lot of coverage, there is not a single mention of Microsoft's console or its games.

Sony has four full pages of the catalog dedicated to its systems and games. The aging PS2 console still gets some space, selling for 79.99 Euro bundled with a single DualShock controller. You can grab an old 80 GB PS3 for 269.99 Euros, or a brand new PS3 Slim bundled with PES 2010 and Metal Gear Solid 4 priced at 349 Euros. Singstar and DJ Hero for the PS3 are also heavily promoted in the catalog.

Nintendo's Wii and DS each get a full two-page spread. The DSi is listed alongside the regular DS Lite model for 169.99 Euros.

Oddly, there is not a single reference to Microsoft, the Xbox 360, or its games in the entire Spanish Toys R Us catalog. Unfortunately, the same goes for the PSP Go. There is a fill page devoted to the regular PSP 3000: an Invizimals bundle will sell for 199.99 Euros, and the Hannah Montana Lilac PSP is prominently advertised with the game bundled at 189.99 Euros.

Why is Toys 'R' Us neglecting the Xbox 360? We have seen them for sale in a number of brick-and-mortar shops in Spain and France, so we know that you can buy the console here. Toys R Us Spain even has the Xbox 360 for sale through its online website, although you have to dig for it. We think that the reason for the omission in the catalog is either due to an exclusivity deal with Sony, promising more retail exposure for the holiday rush. It could also be simply due to the fact that Toys R Us does not judge the Xbox 360 to be a hot seller in Spain. Traditionally, Sony's consoles have performed better in European territories, but Microsoft has made inroads recently. Sales figures suggest that the Redmond company has sold 12.7 million consoles in the EU, slightly more than Sony's PS3 has sold here to date. Whatever the reason for the glaring omission of the Xbox 360, one thing is certain: Sony has a major presence at retail this year, and it will be hard for consumers to miss the new $299 PS3 console if they open a catalog or go near a shop.

Be sure to check out your local toy store catalogs as they arrive, and let us know what you find. Are retailers promoting the Xbox 360 , or pretending that it doesn't exist? We'd be especially curious to know what the American Toys R Us catalog looks like, and whether Sony has similar amounts of space devoted to its products in other retail catalogs.

The Toys R Us Catalog in Spain contains no reference to either the PSP Go or the Xbox 360.