Reports are emerging that American retail almost completely sold out of Xbox hardware units on day one. Although figures will not be released until next week, it is widely expected that Microsoft will announce that it has sold over 300,000 machines on the first day of sale.
Although the Xbox launch was not greeted with the madness that surrounded that of the PlayStation 2, retail sales and re-orders were solid throughout the day.
But with only half of the 600,000 units that were initially promised for day one, sales could have been much higher. This shortfall will assist GameCube’s sales when it officially goes on sale on Sunday 18th November.
Xbox’s strong sales have confirmed industry and financial speculation that the videogames market is solid. As a relatively cheap form of home entertainment, videogames continue to sell strongly despite the signs of an incumbent economic downturn, and the release of Xbox and GameCube is sure to bolster the sector’s performance.
But strong initial sales don’t mean that Microsoft is in the clear yet, "It generally takes up to three years to break even on the hardware," said PJ McNealy, senior analyst with Gartner Inc. in San Jose. "Sony expects to break even on its PS2 business by next year, which would put them at just under two years since launching the console. It's built into the business plan. That's why it's a five-year business cycle."
Although the Xbox launch was not greeted with the madness that surrounded that of the PlayStation 2, retail sales and re-orders were solid throughout the day.
But with only half of the 600,000 units that were initially promised for day one, sales could have been much higher. This shortfall will assist GameCube’s sales when it officially goes on sale on Sunday 18th November.
Xbox’s strong sales have confirmed industry and financial speculation that the videogames market is solid. As a relatively cheap form of home entertainment, videogames continue to sell strongly despite the signs of an incumbent economic downturn, and the release of Xbox and GameCube is sure to bolster the sector’s performance.
But strong initial sales don’t mean that Microsoft is in the clear yet, "It generally takes up to three years to break even on the hardware," said PJ McNealy, senior analyst with Gartner Inc. in San Jose. "Sony expects to break even on its PS2 business by next year, which would put them at just under two years since launching the console. It's built into the business plan. That's why it's a five-year business cycle."
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Microsoft
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