Moore on 360 launch: "Nothing's perfect"
Reports of publisher admitting it won't meet shipment projections for next-gen console unfounded, but Xbox honcho changes focus from initial goal.
It's no secret that Microsoft has had problems cranking out enough Xbox 360s to satisfy demand for the system in North America and Europe. But even as would-be customers fretted about how to get their hands on one of the coveted consoles for the holiday season, the company stood by its projections to ship 3 million units worldwide in the first 90 days after the system's debut.
That was called into question this morning, as a report on the Financial Times Web site today quoted Xbox corporate VP of worldwide marketing and publishing Peter Moore talking about the company's ongoing supply troubles.
"Nothing's perfect," Moore told the Financial Times. "You've got a complex piece of hardware that's got 1,700 different parts in it, every now and again the line will slow down because something's happened and there'll be a component that didn't make it that morning�That's just the way of the beast, particularly when you are ramping up factories from ground zero all the way up to full capacity."
The story, "Microsoft to miss Xbox target," points out that that Microsoft didn't reiterate the 90-day target at the Consumer Electronics Show, choosing instead to tout a goal of 4.5 million to 5.5 million units by the end of its fiscal year in June. It was reported by a number of sites as an admission from Microsoft that it would not reach its previous milestone.
The only problem is, that's not what the Financial Times reported. In the article, penned by Chris Nuttall, it merely says that the company "is now expected to miss its target."
Nuttall told GameSpot he received no such admission that Microsoft had admitted defeat on the 90-day target from Moore. Nuttall said he asked Moore if the switch in focus to the end-of-fiscal-year projection meant the company had given up on the 90-day goal, and that the Xbox honcho dodged the question without actually denying it.
The number of 360s shipped worldwide should get a boost just after that 90-day window closes, as Microsoft has announced that it will launch the system in Korea on February 24, followed a week later by March 2 launches in Hong Kong, Taiwan, and Singapore. And while it hasn't released a date for the Chinese launch of the system, Microsoft has said it is targeting a 2006 launch for the 360 in that region as well.
Comments
I got mine launch night (it helps to pre-order right after E3), and have been playing it daily. I love Live, PGR, and the live arcade. So to all who don't have their's yet, "I FART IN YOUR GENERAL DIRECTION!" Wanna come by and play?
I still love my xbox 360 and it's an impressive piece of hardware. It's a shame that people are still having problems getting one, but thats the consequence when you do a world launch.
Hmmm...so it seems as though MS will have only shipped less than 5 million 360's by the time the PS3 launches (provided it launches in spring). That doesn't seem like enough of an early lead to me, PS3 could potentially sell that much and more by the end of 2006.
"Nothing's perfect huh? Like Windows maybe?" Yup and 80% of computers used Windows as it's OS.
well ps3 will outsale it just because it is playstation. and people will buy one just because that is all they have ever used. i will own all three next generation consoles... just as i have owned every console ever made... because there are always good games on each system that are exclusive to that system... i am just waiting for a reason to breakout my x-box 360. nothing is making me want to play it yet. i was tempted to sell it on ebay... but i have always had every system as of launch... i could not bear to break that tradition lol.
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Microsoft is full of s***, and that they are still launching in other regions that don't really care that much, while their main money making country demands more. That's just stupid.
I didn't pre-order mine yet, here I am playing away! I got mine about a two weeks before christmas aswell, so bang in the middle of the rush for them. It helps that I bought it from the place I work at, but none the less I still find it hard to believe that people are unable to get them still.
that was expected coz off the shortage.......anyway rofl at poor jealous sony fans
Well if its stupid to release in smaller markets why dont you ask Sony why up until Microsoft released world wide Sony was going to do its usual give the Japan market the PS, wait 4, 5 months, then give it to the US. Microsoft changed that from here on out...now the US wont have to wait anymore. Now you are going to have to factor in that Sony will run into the same problem microsoft has with overwhelming demant and production problems. Love my 360, cant wait to get my PS3.
i think we must all remember that this is a feat that has never been done before. granted ms is having many difficulties, but this is still ground breaking for console sales. if they learn from this launch, just think of the potential of the next launch. also, we must remember, ms is primarily a software company, which, to me, explains some of the problems with turning out a system.
Actually Microsoft is most likely really having trouble getting the thing produced in time they opened a new manufacturing company that they hoped would get running at full capacity immediately, but they recently found out that isn't the case so they change the target sales number. They would in fact make that number because demand is crazy for this thing in europe and in america and don't forget that there are places that haven't received one yet that'd love to get their hands on a 360 and play some doa 4. (I know some ps3 fanboy will bash doa 4 because its not on their precious playstation 3.) They were in fact on track to meet that 3 million goal, but something went wrong in the manufacturing area. Solidus you are in for quite the surprise because that ps3 will most likely not launch until 2007 so get ready to hear all the sony excuses. Hell I wouldn't be surprised if microsoft announcing they wont meet this goal is a plan to make sony think its okay not to launch yet. Its a chess game folks, but only microsoft has all their pieces on the board whereas sony has none.
I also got my Xbox 360, and yes I was smart to, I PRE-ORDER ahead of time. And I am very happy with it, and if you ask me, PS3 will have the same problems. Its to hard to keep up with demand. PS3 is trying to ignore the problem too, but they know its coming and will be true to, unless they post pone and don't put it out till holiday 2006 where they can make a sufficient supply, but by that time, Xbox 360 will be at its peek, and will have plenty of units for sale to everyone. And they will have many games. Good ones if that, and ones that will dissappoint anyone who buys a PS3. The PS3 will have good games, but only first gen, 360 makes up by having 1st and then 2nd. And once again we haven't seen a real PS3 game yet on the system to run. Just movies. And Sony is known to lie about its games and fool everyone and then dissappoint but sell cause people believed in them. This is not PS and Saturn. This time, Xbox 360 is the PS and the PS3 is the Saturn. Its coming, and only time will tell the truth. It just sucks that everyone wanting PS3 is blind to the truth. And on one other note, if you talk specs, you need to know that there is no way the PS3 will be sold for less then 400 bucks. If they do, they will go bankrupt from paying out to manufactors and Nvidia. Which would be fine in my books.
Yeah we all knew that was coming, not meeting projections is the way the console market is.
It's not about smaller markets... Actually Japan is the biggest market for video games because EVERYONE buys them. There are NO groups excluded. But no one in Japan wants a 360. They love their Playstation and they will stick by it, until Microsoft can prove itself. That's why it's stupid to do a world wide relase. Sony won't do that, they know where they will make the majority of their money. Microsoft just showed how greedy they are by trying to take the Japanese market while neglecting American consumers. Their many buyers.
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