NEWS - Wednesday, December 14, 2005
Can MS Meet December Sales Target For Xbox 360?
Microsoft may have kept expectations low this holiday season in hopes to “over deliver” In an interesting article from Reuters, American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy said that Microsoft would be “challenged” to ship 1.5 million to 1.8 million Xbox 360s worldwide by the end of December. This is in part due to the shortage, but also a weak retail environment. “We believe that (Microsoft) has tried to keep expectations low for retailers this holiday with the hopes of over- delivering. We believe that over-delivering is unlikely at this point,” McNealy said. Microsoft is aiming to sell approximately 2.75 million to 3 million Xbox 360s in the first 90 days after the November 22nd launch in North America. Microsoft spokeswoman Molly O’Donnell said the company is firmly on track to hit its 90-day target, but declined to give a forecast for sales through the December holidays. Microsoft had 300,000 to 400,000 units for the launch in North America, around 300,000 for the European launch and 100,000 for Japan. McNealy expects MS to ship another 300,000 units in the next week in North America, which would put the total at about 1 million units. Additional shipments would be required at month end to reach McNealy’s 1.5 million to 1.8 million target.Source: www.xbox360news.com
