Xbox 360 Sales Hit 1.5Million Worldwide
90-day forecast downgraded, but MS still expects to sell 2.5 mil by the end of next month and make a mint doing so
Microsoft might have retreated from its original target of selling three million Xbox 360s in the first 90 days of the console hitting shelves, but it is still standing by its aim of 4.5 to 5.5 consoles sold by the end of June.
Confirming official sales figures, the Redmond giant has said it sold 1.5 million Xbox 360s in its December financial quarter and reckons it's still on target to sell 2.5 million units by the end of February - that's according to its Chief Financial Officer Chris Liddell, who divulged the figures in a conference call to US analysts.
Financial reports are usually drier than the grains of sand in the desert, but this particular breakdown does make for some interesting reading. According to MS, the Xbox 360 had sold some 900,000 units in the US and North America by December 31, while overall European sales had reached the half million mark during the same period. As widely predicted, the Xbox 360 made less of a splash in Japan, apparently shifting just 100,000 units in the face of public apathy and a perceived lack of Japanese-friendly titles.
Microsoft has obviously been handicapped by major supply problems with the sought after console and this has caused not only to revise its forecasts but admit that this has affected its overall revenue. However, Liddell also asserted that by bringing on board a new manufacturing partner in Celestica next month it would help get that elusive white console into punters' hands.
Scant consolation we suppose if you're still waiting to get a Xbox 360, particularly given that MS says it also expects to make $1.5 bn in sales of systems, consoles and peripherals in those first 90 days. However, as senior MS execs have always maintained to CVG in private briefings, it wants to put consoles in the hands of gamers as quickly as possible despite these initial supply problems.
So 1.5 million fairly happy customers, can it add another million before the end of Feb and give the console real momentum and a beefy user base? We'll keep em peeled on your behalf but let us know what you think in the forums below.
SOURCE - CVG
