Microsoft to release an extra 300,000 Xbox 360 consoles by Christmas
Dec 16, 2005 @ 1:26 am · By Blake Hurley
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American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy expects Microsoft to release an extra 300,000 consoles to North America by Christmas.
In his research notes, McNealy outlined the launch figures for the Xbox 360 and stated that Microsoft would struggle to achieve its initial goal of shipping between 1.5 and 1.8 million units worldwide by the end of December.
“We believe that (Microsoft) has tried to keep expectations low for retailers this holiday with the hopes of over-delivering. We believe that over-delivering is unlikely at this point.”
McNealy believes there were 300,000 to 400,000 units for the launch in North America, around 300,000 for the Europe and 100,000 for Japan. The total would be around 1 million Xbox 360 units if the predicted 300,000 consoles are included.
The number is still well short of the expected 1.5 million, which means additional shipments would be needed before month’s end to reach their target.
Microsoft is maintaining its pre-launch aim of selling 2.75 to 3 million Xbox 360 consoles in the first 90 days following its release, regardless of the current shortages in store. Senior manager of global Xbox public relations, Molly O’Donnell, said the company was firmly on track to reach its goal, but declined to comment on expected sales for the rest of the year.
The news coincides with the release of the first independent figures regarding the launch performance of the Xbox 360 in North America. The NPD group, a sales and marketing information company, has revealed that there were 325,602 units sold by the end of November, down considerably on the 556,000 consoles sold by the original Xbox after a comparable time.
While machine sales have started out lower, software sales were incredibly strong with 1.27 million units shipped alongside the Xbox 360 - representing a ratio of 3.9 units of software per console, as opposed to 2.4 for the original.
Call of Duty 2 has proven to be the most popular title among gamers so far, with around a quarter of a million sales, which equates to about 77% of all Xbox 360s purchased.
Source: Reuters
You’d think Microsoft would be ecstatic over the Xbox 360’s success in North America. The console sold out within hours of its release, and gamers all over the country are scouring Best Buy, Target, Wal-Mart, eBay and even the shady fly-by-night online stores in the hope of getting a 360 before Christmas.
The whole situation’s reminiscent of the Playstation 2 shortage in the 2000 holiday season, when a chip defect slowed the console’s manufacture by around 50% and saw consumers flood stores rumored to be receiving a PS2 shipment.
Except for one key point: sales figures.
The PS2 sold over 500,000 consoles in the US on its launch day alone. The Xbox 360, on the other hand, had only sold 325,602 units by the end of November, despite the console’s shortages and accompanying hype.
Even the original Xbox did better than the Xbox 360: it sold 556,000 units in a comparable period of time. Had Microsoft been able to manufacture more Xbox 360 consoles, there’s every chance the 360’s sales figures would have dwarfed the original Xbox’s, but the current shortage puts Microsoft in a tricky situation.
Many gamers and, of course, parents are currently exerting considerable effort to get an Xbox 360 this holiday season. Once the holiday season is over, demand will naturally die down.
If Microsoft is unable to take advantage of the holiday shopping boom due to shortage problems, many shoppers may well figure that waiting for the Playstation 3’s spring 2006 release isn’t such a bad idea after all.
Considering that the PS2 has an installed user base of over 100 million, taking on Sony’s PS3 with an unestablished Xbox 360 console can’t be an attractive proposition for the Microsoft head honchos. Unless it ups the Xbox 360’s rate of manufacture to capitalize on current demand, Microsoft is effectively conceding defeat to Sony in this war of the next-gen consoles.
By Nicole Stiles, Xb360Info.com writer
Dec 18, 2005 @ 12:33 pm
Reagan Said,
Will someone tell me when walmart is going to get some xbox 360s in
Dec 19, 2005 @ 2:00 pm
jaaaaa Said,
I’m done with microsoft,They hyped the console up so much.. Talking about how badly they want to beat out the ps3 , And thats the reason they released […] more
Dec 22, 2005 @ 7:06 am
BizzaroStamos Said,
I don’t know what the author is talking about really, i dont know how a supply shortage is a concession of defeat at all, i want to be here to laugh w […] more
Dec 23, 2005 @ 7:53 pm
Small Town USA Said,
WOW!!! I was able to purchase 3 xbox 360’s within the last 48 hours from of all places Wal-Mart and Best Buy. Thanks for having the leak on Best Buy […] more
Feb 25, 2006 @ 10:26 pm
illphil Said,
i can relate after christmas i entered a circuit city originally to buy a CD but i saw a guy exit with a brand new 360 i instantly converted my cash f […] more