NEWS - Tuesday, December 23, 2003
Korea: Xbox Sales Numbers Disappoint Microsof
Xbox has been in the Korean market for over a year and was targeted to sell 150,000 units during that period. Unfortunately for Microsoft, only 60,000 consoles have been sold to date due to lackluster demand by Korean gamers. Contrasting Microsoft’s slim sales figures are Sony’s PlayStation 2 numbers. Since being released nearly two years ago, Sony has sold over 600,000 PlayStation 2 consoles to a far more receptive Korean audience. Analysts and critics point to a wide variety of reasons behind the disparity between Microsoft and Sony console sales. Microsoft has had an uphill battle marketing their first console attempt to a market already saturated with loyal PlayStation fans. Besides Halo the Xbox has had issues producing titles that generate gamer interest in the system enough to stimulate sales. According to the Korea Herald, critics fault Microsoft for not running an aggressive marketing campaign, with Sony moving forward with a fast-paced, event driven pitch to gamers for the PlayStation 2. Microsoft has also changed the Korean Xbox business manager three times and has canceled high profile TV spots that would have promoted the console. Microsoft is pinning its Xbox sales hopes on getting Koreans hooked on the Xbox Live! service for the console. Korea takes the top slot as the world’s most wired nation, with more than 11 million households hooked to a broadband network, a tempting target for both Microsoft and Sony.Source: http://www.gametrailers.com/
