After the release of the Yankee Group's report which showed that the upcoming PS3 will take over the console dedicated market until 2011, Microsoft announced again that it will ship no less than 10 million Xbox 360 by December and other 13 - 15 million units by June 2007, informs X-bit Labs.

"By holiday 2006, we believe we will have shipped more than 10 million Xbox 360 consoles worldwide and have an expected catalog of 160 high-definition games. The E&D team is carrying strong momentum into FY07 with anticipated growth expected to benefit from holiday sales of Xbox 360. E&D forecasts fiscal year 2007 guidance for Xbox 360 unit sales between 8 to 10 million consoles. The yearly guidance implies that by the end of the fiscal year we expect to sell 13 to 15 million Xbox 360 consoles since launch," it is written in Microsoft's statement.

The Yankee Group said that the PS3 could be sold up until 2011 in no less than 30 million units, an amount equal to 44% third-generation console sales in the U.S. Microsoft, on the other hand, has sold over 5 million Xbox 360 until now and will have sold almost 27 million units by 2011, as Nintendo will have sold over 11 million units.

"With a growing installed base of connected consoles, content owners are beginning to recognize the potential video game consoles offer as a distribution channel. Additionally, these platforms will serve as a strong medium for advertising, validating the growing market for in-game and around game advertising," added Michael Goodman, Yankee Group media and entertainment strategies senior analyst cited by X-bit Labs.