10 Million Xbox 360 Consoles Sold

Microsoft managed to release its next generation console Xbox 360 approximately one year ahead of rivals from Sony and Nintendo. And this head start is reflected in sales. While Sony and Nintendo have only just launched PlayStation 3 and Wii, with the early debut of the Xbox 360 Microsoft forecasts that it will ship in excess of 10 million consoles by the end of 2006.

"This holiday, we expect to have sold in excess of 10 million units worldwide and an expected catalog of 160 high-definition games," revealed a Microsoft representative. The Redmond Company considers as "sold" the Xbox 360 devices, "sold into retail," including the consoles that are in transit or already on store shelves and inventories, in addition to the units actually purchased by consumers.

Microsoft failed to disclose the figure of the currently sold consoles. The Redmond Company's last count dates back to July of this year. In the quarter ending that month, Microsoft sold in excess of 1.8 million consoles, which put the total volume of Xbox 360 sales at over 6 million.

In this context, considering the contextual "sold" definition introduced by the Redmond Company, the 10 million milestone will be achieved by 2007. Microsoft has additionally revealed that it plans to sell 13 to 15 million consoles in the fiscal year 2007 that will end in June 30.

But while Microsoft has had extra room to move for about a year, with PlayStation 3 and Wii released on the market, the Redmond Company's additional elbow room will shrink. In this regard, only time will tell how the market performance of Sony and Nintendo will impact the Xbox 360 sales.