Microsoft predicts strong Xbox sales
PC World | at | by Mike
Microsoft this week forecast its Xbox 360 game console sales will total as many as 15 million by the end of its fiscal 2007, which ends June 30 of next year.
The company expects to have shipped more than 10 million consoles by the end of this year. By the end of June 2007, the company expects its sales to total between 13 million and 15 million units since the launch.
Its forecast for its fiscal 2007 is to ship between 8 million and 10 million Xbox 360 game machines.
The bullish forecast could help give the company an edge in the game console wars against its main rivals, Sony Computer Entertainment and Nintendo. Microsoft faces a tough fight against the two Japanese companies, particularly since its first Xbox never fared as well as the PlayStation 2, and because Sony will launch its next generation console, PlayStation 3, later this year. But an early launch for the Xbox 360 should help the company both in gaining users who want a next generation console immediately and in giving it time to figure out ways to lower production costs.