By Ed Oswald, BetaNews
December 7, 2006, 1:01 PM

With Microsoft executives becoming ever more eager to tout the company' s sales numbers of its Xbox 360 in public, and the dramatic success of games like Gears of War, has Redmond given itself such a head start that it will be near-impossible for Sony to catch up?

Twice in the past week, Microsoft officials have mentioned the magic 10 million number. It has significance, as in each of the previous video game generations, the first to that level ended up being the best selling console overall.

At a NASDAQ event in London, chief financial officer Chris Liddell reiterated Microsoft' s forecast for 10 million consoles by the end of the Christmas season. This number has not only been mentioned by Liddell, but repeatedly by Gates, Ballmer and Xbox head Peter Moore as well.

Many analysts are cautioning that the company may be setting itself up for embarrassment and retaliation from shareholders if it fails to meet this goal. However, in an interview with Bloomberg, Moore upped the ante even more.

Asked by the news service whether the company was likely to beat that outlook, Moore agreed, saying the Thanksgiving weekend was a stellar one for Microsoft and Xbox.

Numbers obtained by BetaNews seem to back up Moore' s claim. Sources say the company sold as many as 100,000 consoles per day in the period surrounding Thanksgiving weekend. Numbers were on the high end of expectations, according to the data.

Additionally, Microsoft was helped out by weaker than expected sales of both the Wii and PS3 during the same period, indicating that shoppers looking for a next-gen console may have been opting for Microsoft' s entrant over others due to availability.

While the most recent data shows six million Xbox 360 consoles sold as of September 30, internal data indicates Microsoft may have sold more than eight million units as of the end of November.

Reaching the 10 million goal is just now a matter of sales: about a week ago the company shipped its ten millionth console. And from the looks of things, hitting the mark may not be that difficult.

Industry watchers are beginning to believe, too. " Microsoft' s lead seems unbeatable now, fueled by a one year head start, the raging success of Gears of War as 2006' s killer app, and most recently, a blitzkrieg of promotion for Halo 3, scheduled for 2007," GigaOM' s Wagner James Au said.

Microsoft' s Moore said the success of the Xbox 360 has much to do with its value proposition for the consumer. " Certainly the consumer is recognizing the fact that we have a great price point as well as 160 games available and that flies in the face of our competition," he told Bloomberg.

" It' s not hard to be confident when you' re the only show in town. Sure, PS3 and Wii have been released, but try to buy one. Short supplies mean sunny sales for Microsoft," remarked Microsoft Watch editor Joe Wilcox. " Also, Xbox 360 is HD ready at a time when HD TVs are hot items. Consumers can wait around for PS3 or Wii and likely not get one--or they could buy a Xbox 360 for their brand new HD plasma or LCD TV. Microsoft is right to boast about sales."

As the saying goes, the ball is now very much in Sony' s court.

EDIT: LINK

10M shipped/sold in, 100,000 daily over thanksgiving weekend because of Gears of War, 8M sold by November, the console is already profitable, ...it' s looking good for Microsoft.

I didn' t expect news like that...

Are they really on course to hit 10 million? Is that by the end of the annual year?

Or fiscal year?

They keep saying years end so I' m presuming the calender year. They have a 15M sold through projection for June 30th so with the fiscal year ending March 31st then their 10M projection would have to be for 31st December 2006.

Well it looks like the 360 is going to trample the PS3 for a few years (due in part to supply issues) but I wouldn' t count Wii out yet. It deffinitely has DS appeal. I' m seriously thinking of getting one when SSB comes out. I think many people with 360s or a PS3 will pick up a Wii as well. The thing looks so cheap compared to the other two, it almost feels like an impulse buy.

I don' t like thinking in terms of war, because from a consumer perspective can be very different from a buisnass perspective. I liked xbox more than Gamecube yet Nintendo made a bit more money on its console than MS did with xbox. This time Nintendo is probably going to come out on top in terms of profit with consoles. They have their own third party line and that sells like mad and they are already making a profit on the hardware. Sony is going to lose big time at least for the life of PS3, they' ll make a profit but it will be pathetic compared to what they made with ps2. They have their two trojan horses, CELL and BR so its difficult how well those things will pay off for them in the long run.

As a consumers point of view. People will argue till they are blue in the face, or until their fingers are raw. Simply a matter of taste, all three will be better then last gen consoles by a long shot. Thats good enough for me...

There' s only 2 games on the Wii I honestly see myself ending up owning and they
are Zelda and SSBB, on the Gamecube those were the 2 franchises I ended up
owning solely.

Of course everyone is going to pick up a Wii..

I don' t know if the 360 is selling well, it' s the first time I have ever remotely
kept track of console sales and had the source to get a better idea.. Is the
360 actually selling well then?

http://nexgenwars.com/

yeah 360 is on track with where its expected to be...

Woah. Last I checked, it had just tipped 6 million, it has sold 2 million since I last
checked.. Oh my.

My brother wanted the Wii after he had found out about WiiSports (he' s 24) I was
shocked, he said he couldn' t wait to box his friends, and I said:

" How do you feel about cartoony graphics?"

He replied,
" What? You mean, it' s not like Fight Night?"

<_<

>_>

*_*



" NO WAY!"

Then he was surprised that Amazon sold out of Wii' s in 7 minutes and I was like..
So?

" That' s amazing!" He replied. I stared him up and down.

4 days later

" Tiz, I heard that Wii is whack!"

" I wonder what could have given you that idea?"

" A few of my friends played it and said that it lacks feel and isn' t that responsive."

I stared him up and down again.

" That boxing game is whack too!"

-_-

Took playstation1 two years to reach 10 millions sold.

And after that it sold 10 million per 10month.

Took playstation1 two years to reach 10 millions sold.

Yes, but gaming was very different back then, it' s way more mainstream now. I personally preferred the DC and 64 over the PS1, but I still must admit that without it gaming wouldn' t be as mainstream and socially acceptable.

I still prefer DC over everything. I don' t care what y' all say. Proprietary media and 64k modems are the way of the future.

I reckon a new dancing stage on the Wii would sell well - one where you have to use two Wiimotes and your hands to do the moves instead of your feet. Imagine doing Saturday Night Fever!



They' ll have definitely missed a trick if that doesn' t come out.

the wii is aimed at a different market to the 360 and ps3.

At first i thought the ps3 would win thanks to the name alone...but im not so sure now. It really could be at the clear loser of this war

ORIGINAL: Dead Saint

the wii is aimed at a different market to the 360 and ps3.

At first i thought the ps3 would win thanks to the name alone...but im not so sure now. It really could be at the clear loser of this war

YEp ps3 and 360 must battle it out for Graphical and traditional gaming supremacy of which the 360 has the upper hand. The Wii sits back and does its own thing. Now i have the Wii the difference in gaming experience is much more obvious.

360 outsells ps3 because, uh, theres not enough ps3' s to go around?

Cmon guys, dont be fucking retards.

no ps3 is outsold because of crappy games and high price

They keep saying years end so I' m presuming the calender year. They have a 15M sold through projection for June 30th so with the fiscal year ending March 31st then their 10M projection would have to be for 31st December 2006.

I wonder if that' s partially because peoples many peoples 360' s have broken and they bought a replacement... Nah, actually I do not wonder, I' m just mad because my 360 was getting damn slow last time I played gears.

It' s somewhat funny to see that it goes so well for for both MS and Nintendo, when the last time we saw them it was going the opposite. And now the previous big seller has switched places with them.

ORIGINAL: mastachefbkw

no ps3 is outsold because of crappy games and high price

No. Moron, I can put my *USED* PS3 up on ebay for $100 more than a brand new one goes for and I' d sell it in 10 seconds. People want it, they just cant get it.

When I tried to sell my 360 it was on ebay for 3 days before it even got a single bid, and yes the price I put for it was fairly low, I eventually took it off and decided to keep it, but it just goes to show how low the demand for x360 is. Nobody actually wants it, it' s a last resort if you can' t find a PS3.

360 outsells ps3 because, uh, theres not enough ps3' s to go around?

Yep, im very sure that if there was enough PS3' s around, they will sell out...

When I tried to sell my 360 it was on ebay for 3 days before it even got a single bid, and yes the price I put for it was fairly low, I eventually took it off and decided to keep it, but it just goes to show how low the demand for x360 is. Nobody actually wants it, it' s a last resort if you can' t find a PS3.

Lol, the exact same thing happened to me.. I couldnt get rid of the dam thing.

Yeah if I wanted to sell it I' d practically have to give it away, I rather keep it than have to sell it for nothing on ebay.