Police had to quell crowd trouble at a Wal-Mart store in Maryland last night after the owner allowed customers to buy unlimited quantities of Xbox 360s on a first-come first-served basis.

A large crowd of people mobbed the shop when it opened, ignoring many of the 300 shoppers who had queued all night.

The incident is one of many that indicate the frenzy among Xbox fans in the US seeking to get their hands on Microsoft's latest gaming console.

The launch of a new console is now a cultural event, and not just a matter of putting boxes into high street shops.

Microsoft is fully aware of the importance of building demand in advance of launch and then selling as many as it can in the first few months. Or is it? Did Microsoft plan this shortage of stock, or is its project management inadequate?

The company is not going into much detail save to say that it is aware of shortages and that buyers should check their stores every week as Microsoft works to increase its supply of consoles through the retail channel.

Andy Woolnough, account director at Fourth Day PR, said: "This is similar to Willy Wonka's golden ticket chocolate bars. Whether Microsoft has made a genuine mistake or it's a cynical stunt, it's the result that's the key.

"Lack of stock, especially after it has been heavily marketed, creates a view that the product is heavily in demand.

"Take the lack of availability of the iPod, new mobile phones and Playstation 2 from a few years ago, when they got 'stuck somewhere in China' as I recall.

"It is not new but it works to keep demand high. It's the 'I can't have one, so I want one' factor. It means that the new product takes on an almost mythical status and earns the owner enough cool points to last all year.

"For Microsoft and the retailers, it means that they don't oversell in one small, albeit significant, part of the year and create a demand that will enable them to level off sales for longer periods by keeping demand high."

Meanwhile Microsoft's pending European launch of its Xbox 360, scheduled for 2 December, is likely to cause huge disappointment for eager consumers.

Two of the top UK retailers of computer games and consoles, HMV and Woolworths, have both said that they will have no Xbox 360s available on 2 December for those who have not pre-ordered, and electronics retailers Dixons and Comet stated that stocks were extremely limited.

Woolworths said that it has sold out completely and will not have Xbox 360s on sale on the launch date.

Analysts have suggested that Microsoft's supply problems stem partly from the fact that it decided to launch the console on a near-simultaneous basis worldwide in an attempt to maintain a lead over Sony before it introduces the PlayStation 3 next year.