Retailers are warning that the new Xbox has completely sold out in the UK.

Customers queued through the night to get their hands on the latest console, but the number of advanced orders exceeded the number of available units even before the launch. Some have questioned if this was a deliberate tactic to bring extra attention to the launch.

"I think it's unlikely Microsoft has withheld supply," Paul Jackson, principal analyst for consumer markets for Forrester Research.

"It's more to do with launching in three markets in close succession. The amount of units it had would satisfy either the US, EU or Far East, but not all at the same time."

Meanwhile prices for the new console on eBay have reached stratospheric levels. Some auctions are offering the new machine at double the price in the shops.

Review: Microsoft Xbox 360