MS Ready to Cash-In on Sony Shortfall
With a sell-out all but guaranteed for the PlayStation 3, Microsoft is making sure it is there with something for gamers to buy.
Is there anyone who thinks that getting hold of a PlayStation 3 this Christmas will be easy? If so, the repeated reports of imminent bedlam should turn even their moods. Things are, however, not nearly so grim for Microsoft.
Microsoft is confident that there won't be Xbox 360 shortages anywhere in Europe this Christmas, says a report at GamesIndustry.biz. This is quite unlike last year when eBay sellers cashed in on the lack of Xbox 360 stock.
European Xbox boss Chris Lewis told Eurogamer that Microsoft is "very confident that we have the production capacity to suit our ambitions."
And those aren't mean ambitions. Microsoft is hoping to build a 10-million unit lead over the PlayStation 3 before Sony's console even launches in November. By the end of November Microsoft had sold around 5 million Xbox 360s, though only 1.3 million of those were sold in Europe.
As of the middle of August, Sony had still yet to manufacture a single production PlayStation 3, though the company is confident that it will have 2 million units ready by the time the console launches in mid November.
Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo Games