North America expecting another 300k Xbox 360s this week
by Conrad Quilty-Harper 
{ Dec 14th 2005 at 10:00AM }
In a Yahoo news article, American Technology Research analyst Paul-Jon McNealy is quoted as saying that he "expects
Microsoft to ship another 300,000 units in the next week in North America" on top of the 300-400k shipped at launch.
That's in comparison with the 300,000 total that Europe
has received so far, as well as another 100,000 which were shipped to Japan.
McNealy's guessing that Microsoft would be challenged to "ship 1.5 million to 1.8 million Xbox 360s worldwide by the
end of December." So far Microsoft has only sent around 700,000 units. The company's got a long way to go if it wants
to ship a total of "2.75 million to 3 million Xbox 360s in the first 90 days after its launch in late November." By the
way, it'd probably be sensible to take these shipping estimates as just that, estimates.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
SickNic @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
It's feasible. Apparently there is a Canadian plant that will open in January and start producing Xbox360s. So far there are only 2 plants in Asia making them right now, so another plant opening could help out the shortage. Yay Canada!
DigitalFirefly @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
300,000 in one week, that's 6,000 per state. Yay!
Tyre @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Do they expect these things to keep selling after christmas? Even if they get up to 1 million units by christmas, there is no way the other 1.75 million will be sold within the few remaining weeks after that.
Johan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
These will sell quickly, bringing US sales to 600,000-700,00. Not bad, that's close to the 2-day sales of Nintendo64.
leojsoap @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
how convenient, almost as if they're trying to create some kind of holiday rush…
KilgoreTrout XL @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
#3: More conspiracy theories? I hope that the delay of another large shipment was because they were tweking their manufacturing to prevent overheating/disc scratching issues.
In any case, I think that the launch will be a success if the timely preordering customers (read: pre-October) are able to acquire the hardware by Xmas. Right now I'm still waiting for a call, although I'm slighty more hopeful in light of this post.
KilgoreTrout XL @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
#4- I thought you were #3. Dammit...
Doug teh H-Nut @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
HOORAY. MORE. 360. I AM GLAD TO KNOW THEY EXIST NOW.
Y'know, for a while, I was thinking it was a government ploy.
leojsoap @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
heh, I just call 'em like I see 'em, XL
Either way, I don't think M$ minds the extra demand, intentional or not.
RighteousDork @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Haha. Does anyone else think it's hilarious when gamers sit around and talk business? Seriously. Step back for a minute and look at the conversation, It's all about units sold and reaching first quarter sales targets. I find that very interesting.
Anthony @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Yawn. I think the excitement is gone. I don't know anyone who wants one now. It's pretty much a flop. The bad publicity is hurting them.
They need to re-design this console so it is truly next generation. This is just XBox 1.5....
Evan @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
So are these the 300K units that the Japanese didn't want?
Mike Daniels @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Reality dictates that one accept that the majority of this shipment is going to the consumer electronics (Best Buy, Circuit City, etc) vs. game stores.
Even if you have a pre-order in (which I do) most games stores are now acknowledging that you probably won't see your shipment until after the holidays.
Personally, I'm fine with waiting. The two primary reasons I preordered (Oblivion and Saint's Row) are delayed until at least March and Oblivion still seems to have some major issues with frame rates at this time. There's currently nothing else out for the 360 that I'm remotely interested in.
Johny-D @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
You know what I hate? The fucking article reads: "U.S. expected to get another 300k Xbox 360s this week" HOWEVER the quote reads, "expects Microsoft to ship another 300,000 units in the next week in North America".
So listen... if somebody says NORTH AMERICA... it does not mean AMERICA... it means NORTHAFUCKINMERICA... which is Canada (the larger of the 2) and then the United Shits of America. Please be more careful in the future to alienate your northern better half.
scampy @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
anthony must be a ps3 fanboy. hype is still alive...
The ZeroCorpse @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Anthony....
You apparently do not work retail. I am asked every five minutes when the 360s will be in, and how best to get one. Interest is VERY high. I think if I had more in stock over the past two weeks, I'd have sold as many 360s as I have Nintendo DS units (which is selling like crazy this year).
It's most definitely not a "flop" by any means. I'd say that Sony's the one with the flop this year- The PSP is not selling very well, and Sony's losing sales once parents find out that the PSP is 1. So expensive and 2. completely inappropriate for anyone under 17 years of age. They see the price, the many M-rated games, and hear about the web browser, and they shift to the DS. The only parents buying their young kids PSPs this year are ignorant of what it is they're getting, and I've already seen a few come back for that reason.
As for 360, I enjoy mine a lot. I'm quite certain that I'm enjoying my 360 a lot more than you're enjoying your PS3 at the moment.
Brian @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
I find the Xbox 1.5 comments to be purely ridiculous. The original Xbox only had a celeron processor and a geforce 4 era gfx chip. The 360 has essentially 3 3ghz processors and an amazingly powerful gfx card. Granted, the first gen games are mostly graphical updates to established genres and most reviewers are bitching about that. However, let's be extremely fair about this. Football, racing, platforming, fps, and rpg's as a genre haven't changed all that much in the last DECADE. When the PS3 comes out it won't bring on new genres or new gameplay. It will bring on new graphics to old genres. What is probably the coolest part of the 360 and next generation gaming in general is the ability to have broadband access to game demos, skins, extra content, etc... Xbox Live Arcade is incredible and I'm sure Nintendo's equivalent will be equally incredible. Sony doesn't really care about the games. They care mostly about making virtual movies. The PS3 allows for this. Sony really plans to use the PS3 to win the High Def DVD war and the games are entirely secondary. Proof: Sony not having a real online strategy.
One more thing, EVERY console is underwhelming at launch. The PS2 had a horrible launch led by titles like Fantavision. The DS launch was weak and was declared "gimmicky". The Xbox launch was claimed as crap until 6 months later when xbox Halo LAN parties were all the rage. The Gamecube launched with Luigi's mansion and it took a long time for games like Zelda and Mario Kart to materialize. Now, say what you will about any one of those consoles, but if you are reading Joystiq you probably own one of those and should be smart enough to realize that most consoles first gen titles are only a glimpse into the power and the greatness that the console has in store. If the PS3 or Revolution titles are that much "better" than the Xbox launch titles, then it's only becuase developers had more time to develop for them than they had for the 360. As it stands, the 360 launch was solid and the machine will probably be a success in America and Europe. When Japan gets some Japanese titles out there, then it might get interesting. Regardless, to call the 360 the Xbox 1.5 is complete crap.
Anonymous rep @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Well, Brian - I completely agree with you. The main problem is, when you post intelligent, well thought out comments, is that some juvenile (either physically, mentally, or both) is going to go NEENER, NEENER, NEENER, and say you're pwned.
What the hard core gamers forget is one minor detail - they are NOT the audience that decides whether or not a console is a success or not. It's the general public that has a limited budget, doesn't have all three gaming systems, and actually has a family to raise that decides the success.
So when Junior tells Mom that he wants an Xbox, or a 360, or wireless controllers, Mom comes to Best Buy / Wal-Mart / Circuit City and says, "HELP!". That's when the Retail Sales People have to be knowledgeable.
A_B @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
To answer RighteousDork's question: Yes, I find it hilarious and slightly sad. Especially when it comes down to arguments over which console is superior based on unit sales.
There are really only two times when most gamers need to concern themselves with stock and sales: when there isn't enough available and when it looks like they company has sold so few, that developers will ignore the platform and therefore, hurt the selection of available games.
This fascination with marketshare and sales on the part of gamers, I think, is unique within the realm of consumer culture. Perhaps one could argue that it is analogous to the fascination car guys have with auto sales.
But I mean, how many people are comparing month to month sales of television sets? You go to a place like AVSForum (which is the preeminent forum in the AV realm), and you don't see guys talking about the number of Sonys or Panasonics sold and whether one is better than the other because they sold more in a particular month.
And as much as car guys do talk sales, in my experience, the number of sales rarely implicates the quality of the car that is being discussed. The fact that a Mitsubishi Evo doesn't sell in volume compared to a Camry would never indicate that the Camry is the "cooler" or better car.
By contrast, you have fanboys proclaiming that their system is better because it sold more in a particular month. You simply can't get away from the comparisons between the DS and the PSP on this score.
Nevermind that the discussion of console sales is usually completely uninformed about market realities, making it completely worthless.
Joey Geraci @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
how does that come back to the ds and the psp again?
refresh my memory.
Chris @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
#1 SickNic : That is funny. I know that Flextronics start production in January, but I heard that it was building in Mexico, not Canada. Like I said, I know the Flextronics part, just not the location.
Johny-D @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
re: A_B
The Camry is better than any Mitsubishi car ever made. Pick up a copy of Consumer Reports and you'll see this for yourself.
As for cooler... well.... maybe to a blind man. ;)
A_B @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
To Joey Geraci:
A "classic" discussion: "Nintendo DS trouncing PSP sales in Japan"
http://www.joystiq.com/entry/1234000837063581/
To Johnny-D:
Car guys don't use Consumer Reports as the guide for what is the better car. It's all about lap times (and associated characteristics). ;)
(that's a joke; I know people look at reliability)
John @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Thank God, i pre-ordered my 360 in Aug. and still nothing...=(, maybe this time, with my pre-order still pending, ill get the damn call already.
As for those of you who are still wanting a psp, c'mon guys, lets be serious, the thing is not even all that, save your cash, and get yourself something useful.
steveY @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
"And as much as car guys do talk sales, in my experience, the number of sales rarely implicates the quality of the car that is being discussed."
Its hard with anything’s in sales to say: this is directly related to this. This is where correlations come in handy. But anyway, going a bit off topic, these companies are so large now they have the means in advertising to create such hype that the console will do well regardless. Its funny, I work at a middle school near my college, its about 20 min out into ruralness. These kids are so isolated from the real world, but they all have their psp's and ds'es and talk about why they aren’t going to get the 360, or why they are. It just goes to show how penetrating advertising schemes really are. Kind of scary.
Conrad Quilty-Harper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Sorry I offended any Canadians! Title changed.
Superzapper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Posted Dec 14, 2005, 10:57 AM ET by Evan
"So are these the 300K units that the Japanese didn't want?"
The Japanese consoles won't work here with US games and they are only backward compatible with a dozen Japanese region games .Microsoft could maybe make a patch though ?*snigger*
DigitalStupor @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
I think we should all agree...right now...and I mean all engadget readers, swear a pact with me.
It goes like this:
"I, (state your name), promise under penalty of having my commenting status removed herewith, will not reply to flamebait under any circumstances."
You see, fanboyism from any side will not be squashed if we keep caving in to replying to ridiculous fanboy comments. It's the same stuff all the time. You see, fanboy comments spread like a virus, because they actually don't have a real opinion of their own, instead they just repeat what they heard from another fanboy and so forth and so on. Let's all try to make a difference today, and make the world a better place!
Also, on that note, I was able to pick up an Xbox360 today at my local BX store (Military)! More are coming peoples, quit spending double on eBay!
Superzapper @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
Yeah my local EB has had a few 360's in for a couple of days now.
Marcus @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
17: the absence of proof isn't the proof of absence, Sony is just keeping quiet even though cough*XBOX Live is amazing*cough.
Leto @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
So only 300k 360s sold in North America in its first month? Those are some weak numbers, that's even less than Dreamcast's 500,000 sold during its first two weeks in North America!
Jackie @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
I just want to say that after watching G4 on cable last night, it is simply amazing that when this was launch in Hollywood, CA. for the celebrities, they all walked out with 2 not 1 xbox 360's and didn't have to pay for them. Here all of us poor hard working people have to cough up $300 & up for this machine that all of our kids want and I have to work many hours to afford this. Celebrities can well afford to pay for 1 if not more and they get it for nothing. What a bunch of hype. joyous
Virtuous @ Dec 18th 2005 9:42PM
MS had bungled the 360 launch big time! As other posters have indicated this is a supply issue, not a demand problem. MS should air freight all of the unsold 360s sitting on Japanese store shelves to the US. This has really turned me off on the 360. Compared to the 360 the original Xbox launch was a runaway success. I'll buy a 360 AFTER the PS/3 ships. I believe that the PS/3 will be better than the 360. In any case I want both.