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Reclaimer
07-19-2003, 10:11 PM
Yeah, yeah, bite me. Only part of this article was posted in a previous thread. The whole thing is really interesting and worth reading if you are interested to see where we stack up against Sony and Nintendo.



www.gamesindustry.biz
Posted: 19/07/2003 at 13:10 GMT

Software giant Microsoft has announced its financial results for the quarter and financial year ended June 31, revealing firm figures for the global installed base of Xbox and its targets for the coming year.

By the end of the financial year, Microsoft had sold 9.4 million Xbox consoles worldwide - far, far lower than some estimates recently, which had put the figure well north of the 10 million mark, with one piece of research suggesting that it was as high as 13 million.

During fiscal 2003, Microsoft sold 5.5 million consoles, and in the next year it expects to sell between 5 and 6.6 million consoles - bringing the installed base to somewhere between 14.5 and 16 million units in total.

The figures for 2003 were helped slightly by the price cuts to the console in the last quarter, and the Home and Entertainment Division of Microsoft saw an 8 per cent rise in revenues during the quarter - bringing it to $483 million.

However, the price cut didn't have that major an effect, according to Microsoft's chief Xbox officer, Robbie Bach. "Certainly the price cut probably had some effect, though I think most people would tell you the effect has been pretty modest," he commented.

One thing which emerges very clearly from the figures is that Microsoft is distinctly struggling in territories outside North America. A massive 6.2 million of its Xbox installed base - some 66 per cent, or two thirds - resides in North America, with Asia Pacific accounting for a mere 1 million units and Europe also lagging very badly, with 2.2 million units.

It's common for industry analysts to mention how badly Xbox is doing in Japan, and how poorly GameCube is doing in Europe - but even more so than the overall sales figures (which, interestingly, put Cube and Xbox almost neck and neck on a global level, with around 9.5 million units each - so why are so many US-based analysts desperate to write off the Cube?), these figures illustrate the gulf between the PS2 and its would-be competitors. Sony has no territory in which it is weak, while the Cube and the Xbox clearly only have one territory each in which they could be considered strong (Japan for the Cube, North America for the Xbox), and are struggling elsewhere.

One very positive figure to emerge from all of this, however, is the Xbox tie ratio - which is standing at around 5:1 globally, although it's not clear whether this takes into account software which was bundled for free with the console in many territories. Microsoft expects to grow this figure significantly in the coming year, with titles like Project Gotham Racing 2 and Halo 2 on the way and likely to sell millions of copies on the system.



And there we have it. We suck in Japan, and Nintendo sucks in Europe.

No Fear 23
07-19-2003, 11:36 PM
Originally posted by Reclaimer
Yeah, yeah, bite me. Only part of this article was posted in a previous thread. The whole thing is really interesting and worth reading if you are interested to see where we stack up against Sony and Nintendo.



And there we have it. We suck in Japan, and Nintendo sucks in Europe.


well, to be honest, when ms said that the price cut does not have a big impact on them, i really didnt care how xbox is doing in other countries. blah, we'll thats just me.

l Maximus l
07-21-2003, 02:03 AM
When the XBox launches additional AAA titles, you'll see a huge increase in sales. Just at the latest E3, you all noticed that XBox had 4 out of 5 games exclusive to the system when it comes to console games. With those games coming out, we will all see a huge jump in sales.

Some people are not in a huge rush to run out and buy a system. Don't ask me why, I think the XBox is by far the best system on the market....period.

Duke
07-21-2003, 10:28 AM
Originally posted by Maximus-XBA
When the XBox launches additional AAA titles, you'll see a huge increase in sales. Just at the latest E3, you all noticed that XBox had 4 out of 5 games exclusive to the system when it comes to console games. With those games coming out, we will all see a huge jump in sales.

Some people are not in a huge rush to run out and buy a system. Don't ask me why, I think the XBox is by far the best system on the market....period.

That's a good point. Unfortuantely w/ Halo 2 launching after the holdiay season (as far as I know) I think it's gonna hurt them console sales wise.

I know there's other AAA titles coming out, and Halo 2 will sell a ton no matter when it's released, but if it were ready by the Holiday season you can guarantee a lot of kids would be asking for an xbox for xmas.

I for one, have my xbox, so I'm happy to wait if that's what it takes to make it what it should be.

Bigwig
07-21-2003, 11:38 AM
Remeber KOTOR was the 4th best RPG at E3 Fable Deus Ex IW, and TFLO were ranked higher so the AAA titles are on the way.

runninutes
07-21-2003, 12:40 PM
Yeah, Xbox had a pretty strong showing this year at E3 - every publication/website I've read said that Xbox was the clear "winner".

BTW, nice sig, bigwig!

EDIT: (woohoo - finally reached 250 posts!)

BCan
07-22-2003, 07:11 AM
The problem is that the average Joe always thinks of "playstation" when it comes to buying a console. It's been around another year or more than the XBOX, people couldn't care if it's slower, or games don't look as good. They have heard plenty about it, and go for it on that logic...

It's word of mouth, or perception by many that has the PS2 still outselling the XBOX and Cube...

mattgame
07-22-2003, 08:42 AM
The superior product will overcome eventually. I had all three of the major consoles and the Xbox is simply the better product. What is going on is people are afraid of change so they will stay stuck on the PS2 as their console of choice. However, by next year I predict that the XBOX will significantly close the gap between them and the PS2. Everyone at my job has traded their PS2 for the almighty XBOX!!! Roll wit it!!!!