Getting an Xbox Series X is proving to be quite difficult for some shoppers. And one Microsoft executive seems to be saying that it won't get any easier anytime soon.

Xbox CFO Tim Stuart told attendees at the Jefferies Interactive Entertainment virtual conference that the current shortage retailers are experiencing with the console will continue for some time, perhaps into 2021

The current Xbox 360 is the only console that is currently available.

The current Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S shortages will continue "as we head into the post-holiday quarter," Stuart said.

"We're going to see a spike in supply over the next four, five, six months," he said. And that's when I expect that's when the demand profile will really start to fill."

Why is it so hard to get a new console, in the case of the Xbox Series X, Stuart attributes it to the explosion in gaming demand over the last few years.

"What we've seen from the last generation to now - and I think part of this demand profile is that, frankly, gaming is just exploding," Stuart said of the enormous demand for gaming consoles. [It's a $200 billion-a-year industry. Kids and adults, men and women, young and old, everything is gaming. And that's what drives the demand profile.

Liz Hamlen, Xbox's head of experience and platforms, said in a blog post last week how difficult it has been for would-be Xbox Series X owners to procure a system since the console launched on November 10, especially in the run-up to the holiday season He admitted.

"We know that not everyone was able to get their hands on an Xbox Series X|S right away, and we are working tirelessly with our partners around the world to bring the new console to as many people as possible over time.

Microsoft had hinted several times, including on launch day, that there would be opportunities to purchase the Xbox Series X from a variety of retailers, but the experience was not a good one for many. In fact, several purchasers have yet to have their new Xbox systems in hand.