Europe Counts Its Xbox 360s

Microsoft launched the Xbox 360 in the USA on November 22th, and now its Europe's turn to see the Redmond's giant next generation gaming console. Microsoft executives said that the company will make available around 300.000 Xbox 360 units for its European launch.

Industry analysts estimate that 300.000 Xbox 360 consoles will be enough to satisfy the users' demand.

Xbox 360 sold out in many US stores after its launch, and comes in short supply. The console is selling at a premium US$400 retail price on Internet auction sites. It is assumptive that the console will sell out at its European launch also.

While Microsoft's rivals Sony and Nintendo will release their next generation gaming consoles in 2006, Microsoft's is the first non-handheld device in four years from a major manufacturer. The company plans to sell up to 3 million units in the first three months from the launch.

As stated in recent news, this year, the gaming console market fell by 9.1 percent, counting 28 million game titles sold. However, iSuppli said that with the introduction of the next generation consoles, the market will grow significantly, reaching sales of 40 million units in 2006, not including the handheld games.