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1 Million 360s a Month By Year's End 118

Posted by Zonk from the cue-the-stirring-march-music dept.
GameDailyBiz reports that Microsoft plans to have one million 360's produced a month by the end of the year. From the article: "As has been previously reported Xbox 360 production and availability has already been significantly increased in recent weeks. In the period through Microsoft's fiscal year ending in June, the company expects to pump out 2 to 3 times the number of units it did previously. With Sony's PlayStation 3 launching this November across the globe, Microsoft still has a window of opportunity during which it can extend its lead in the next-gen race considerably."
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1 Million 360s a Month By Year's End More

1 Million 360s a Month By Year's End

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  • That's no moon... (Score:5, Funny)

    by voice_of_all_reason ( 926702 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:39AM (#15164762)
    It's an XBOX Manufacturing station...

  • "the company" (Score:3, Informative)

    by gabebear ( 251933 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:40AM (#15164764) Homepage Journal
    The quote in the abstract is quote misleading. Mr. Lin from the Wistron company said it; Wistron makes some of the 360's for Microsoft.

  • Smoke And Mirrors (Score:2, Interesting)

    by mikeisme77 ( 938209 )
    Just ramping up production won't mean more people buying them. Maybe some none sports/FPS games would help things out. Or a game that you can't buy for $10 less on the older generation (might not be as pretty, but it's $10 less and is just as fun). Lower system price would be nice too, as only the early adopters (most of which have their 360 already) are willing to pay $400+ for a system with little original content.

  • 1 million per month? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by Generic Guy ( 678542 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:43AM (#15164793)
    At one million per month, it sounds like they're going from terrible undersupply to terrible oversupply.

    • Re:1 million per month? (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      There is no 'undersupply' of 360s :)

      360s have been in stock in all major US retailers since late February.

      One just has to look at the 360 numbers:

      Microsoft has been INCREASING production of 360s over the past few months.

      However, monthly sales of 360s have been DECREASING over the past few months.

      There just isn't much demand for the system outside of the existing hardcore Xbox demographic. Microsoft is on track to sell less than three million 360s this year.

      • Re:1 million per month? (Score:1, Interesting)

        by Anonymous Coward
        Any refrences to support this claim? Not saying it's wrong, but I can't find any sales figures.
        • Actually, the NPD numbers I saw said 161k units for the US in February, 192k in March. So I'm not seeing a drop month-on-month at all.
          • According to NPD March Game Sales Specifics Added [gamasutra.com], the PS2 is still outselling the XBOX 360:

            on the hardware front, it was revealed that the Xbox 360 sold through just under 200,000 copies in North America in March, showing the continued shortages of the console, allegedly now ameliorated. Elsewhere, the PlayStation 2 still led the way with almost 275,000 sales, and the Xbox (just under 85,000) and GameCube (just under 65,000) brought up the rear.

            This compares to 160k XBOX 360s sold in Februrary accordin

            • I'm not surprised the PS2 is selling more than the 360, it's _half the price_ of the core system.

              In fact, I'm impressed that the 360 is making the inroads it's making, if you compare the shares from February to March, the numbers go from 34% of the combined 360/PS2 sales to 42% of the combined sales. And the PS2 absolute numbers are trending down. That's a very good trend for a console that costs twice as much at a minimum.

              When you count both XBox and 360 sales, they outperformed the PS2 last month. While y
              • But if you're going to add XBox + XBox 360 to make a comparison, should you not also add PSP + PS/2 and Game Boy + DS + Game Cube to compare it to?

                I still maintain that the most interesting numbers won't come out until early next year.

                • No, since PSP games are designed in the same way as PS1 titles, and are not really related to PS2 development.
                  Gameboy and DS can be added together. But the Gamecube again uses a different set of tools and abilities.

                  In general though, you don't want to be comparing the handhelds with the standard consoles, they're a different market entirely.

                  Now when Revolution comes out, it should be added to gamecube sales when determining development cost and possible returns from a game, since from what I can tell, the s
            • Good to see your sources agree with mine, then.

              The launch of the 360 in Australia is a red herring, though - NPD numbers only cover US sales.
      • Really? Because the best buy here in az checked the computers and there is not a single 360 at any best buy in arizona. Walmart and target said the same. So where are these 360s, Japan?
    • Why would anyone care? In the consumer driven market, oversupply would mean the cost of an individual unit would decrease. Combine an overage of product with the competition of the PS3, and prices would fall even more. Consumers would be the ones who would make out like bandits here, so why is anyone complaining?
      • Not necessarily. If the things aren't selling, retailers will stop buying systems. Microsoft could then try to lower the price to make it more attractive to the consumer, or if the retailers can't get rid of "them damn bricks", they could dump them at dirt-cheap prices.

        It isn't a question of supply and demand when you have one supplier whose main interest isn't in making profits on the machine.

  • How many 360's sold to date? (Score:3, Interesting)

    by ZombieRoboNinja ( 905329 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @10:47AM (#15164833)
    Increasing the rate of production is all well and good, but how big is the installed base for 360 right now, and how big do they expect it to be by the time PS3 comes out?

    I'm especially curious about non-US markets here. Has the 360 been selling ANY units in Japan? Last I heard, the answer was no; what happens if we have the 360 as the runaway winner of this console generation here in the States, but the PS3 or Revolution annihilates it in Japan? It would be kind of a weird dichotomy...

    • Re:How many 360's sold to date? (Score:1, Informative)

      by Anonymous Coward
      The 360 has sold a little under 1.5 million worldwide so far.

      About 100k in Japan.
      About 800k in the US.
      About 500k in Europe.

      The 360 has been selling around thousand or so a week in Japan. It has been selling less than the GameCube over there.

      "what happens if we have the 360 as the runaway winner of this console generation here in the States"

      That just isn't going to happen. The 360 is the worst selling console since the 3DO; even the first Xbox and Dreamcast sold significantly better.

      Most troubling for the 36
      • Just to clarify, those are basically the number announced for units sold between the launch (Nov 22nd) and Dec 31st '05. We probably won't get another set of reliable numbers until thier next quarterly report.

        The numbers above are basically correct (but I think the number was 900k in North America), but just an thought I'd add in the date range that those were for as it could easily be mis-understood to represent more current numbers (which aren't yet available).
    • Well, I wouldn't be too worried about Japan since they are a very small market especially compared to Europe and the United States. I know that the local Japanophiles would want you to believe they are the end all be all but unfortunately they aren't especially from the consumer side.
      • US population - 300 million Japan population - 128 million Europe population - 705 million Now, if the US has twice as many technologically savvy people as Europe, and Japan has twice as many as the US (a rough estimate, but rather likely) then when looking at those sales numbers again, I don't think the argument of market size has anything to do with the discussion.
        • It's the size of the gaming market that matters, though, not some bizarre standard of technological savvy. I don't have the exact numbers handy, but Japan has been smaller than the US for some time (I believe since the PS1 era) and Europe is now larger too. More importantly the Japanese games market is basically shrinking and has been since the PS1. The same is not true of the US and especially Europe, which is growing rapidly.
    • It would be kind of a weird dichotomy...

      It would be the norm.

      Exporting culture, whether it be in the form of a game, a book, a movie, or a high-tech gadget is difficult.

    • Granted this is from a Nintendo fan-site, but the 360 is only beating out the GCN in terms of sales by ~700 units. At the same time it's being soundly trounced by the the Game Boy Micro, Game Boy SP, and is getting a very large beat down by the PS2.

      http://www.nintendojo.com/editorials/view_item.php ?1145322602 [nintendojo.com]

      Unfortunately, they don't say where the stats come from, but I'm sure they can easily be found on the net (I just can't remember what company usually reports the Japanese sales figures)
    • Has the 360 been selling ANY units in Japan?

      Nope, that's why they can pump out a million a month for the US.
  • I have a roommate who went back to WoW a week after plunking down more than $600 for a 360 and 3 games. Maybe Mr. Lin was talking about 1 million units total.

  • Great! I wonder if anyone will buy them... (Score:3, Insightful)

    by Schezar ( 249629 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @11:04AM (#15164950) Homepage Journal
    There is no more shortage, and there hasn't been for some time. I see Xbox360s for sale at standard retail price, both the "value" edition and the full one, all over. Anyone who wants one can just go pick one up.

    I wonder how many people who don't already have an Xbox360 are actually going to buy one in the near future. Microsoft likes to spin this as though they're producing more units to cover the huge demand and reduce shortages, but said shortages are now nothing more than an illusion. I honestly believe that most everyone who wants one already has one or can't really afford one.

    It's funny how, despite all this, I still think that Sony is in a worse position than Microsoft in this round of the console "wars."
    • While I do agree that this is hype from MS, and if they produce 1mil/month, they are going to need alot of warehouse space...

      The shortage still exists in localities. In my area, the only the only 2 places that carry them (walmart and shopko) are barely getting them. Shopko hasnt had any in months, and walmart gets maybe 5-10 a month, and they sell w/in a day or 2 of receiving them.
    • I wonder how many people who don't already have an Xbox360 are actually going to buy one in the near future.

      I know two people who just bought Xbox 360s, and I'm getting one next month. The constrained supply was a huge factor in our decisions to get them now.

    • There's still a shortage in many areas, and a good supply in others. Hopefully we'll see that sorting itself out over the next few weeks. Having your product actually on the shelves can only help sales!
    • I think it really depends on where you live. Where I live in "Microsoft country" (the greater Seattle area), Xbox 360s are still very much hard to find. It's gotten a lot better, no doubt, but I still don't see them just sitting on shelves. Everyone I know who REALLY wanted a 360 has one, but some of the folks I know who are more casually interested in the console are still waiting till they can just pick it up at their local electronics/game store.

      I've heard the same shortages from friends around Austin an

  • 360s (Score:2, Interesting)

    by the computer guy nex ( 916959 )
    "I'm especially curious about non-US markets here. Has the 360 been selling ANY units in Japan? Last I heard, the answer was no; what happens if we have the 360 as the runaway winner of this console generation here in the States, but the PS3 or Revolution annihilates it in Japan? It would be kind of a weird dichotomy..."

    Microsoft didn't even run one commercial or print ad for the 360 in Japan prior to launch. That is a good indicator of what MS thinks of the Japanese market.

    MS would be perfectly hap
    • MS would be perfectly happy of dominating the States (which it might the way the PS3 is going) and losing in Japan.

      Based on their past performance - dead last in Japan, almost neck-and-neck with the Gamecube in the US, and losing billions of dollars....I wouldn't get your hopes up quite yet.

      Friend of mine had to stand in a line of over 40 people for 8 hours a month after launch to get a console and they are still very rare to find on shelves. The demand for this product is unreal.

      A whopping 40 people, and
      • and losing billions of dollars

        Just as a bit of a reality check, the last good numbers availble were through Dec 31, 2005 when they had sold 1.5 million 360s. Assuming that by "billions" you meant at least 2 billion they would have to be losing at least $1,333 per machine and getting no roalties on any games.
        • Just as a bit of a reality check, you could also realize that I was referring to past performance with that line, i.e the original XBox.
        • Another reality check -- not only was the original poster referring to the XBox, not the XBox 360, but you seem to forget that there are other costs associated with selling these machines.

          Advertising in every medium possible so that they can give potential customers the impression (illusion) that your product is cool isn't free. Paid award shows (informercials for people too stupid to realize they're watching an infomercial) on SpikeTV and MTV aren't free. They have to ship the boxes from the factories (t
          • Since the entire thread was discussing the 360 I'd assumed he was talking about the 360 since he didn't say otherwise. My bad I guess.

            My problem is all the non-sense numbers that get tossed around here. If I'd been able to guess that he was referencing a completely different product line than the one being discussed, than I wouldn't have been so bothers because by looking at P&L breakdowns in SEC filings I can at least see that it isn't complete gibberish. However, based on my false assumption that
            • I hate to be a jerk, but christ, I can only take so much idiocy.

              Since the entire thread was discussing the 360 I'd assumed he was talking about the 360 since he didn't say otherwise. My bad I guess.

              If I'd been able to guess that he was referencing a completely different product line than the one being discussed,

              However, based on my false assumption that the numbers he was quoting were trying to be relevant to the conversation (360)

              What part of "past performance" and mention of competing against the Gamecube

      • A whopping 40 people, and the wait was still 8 hours? I'm curious how that indicates unreal demand more than it indicates a horrible supply problem.

        There is no difference between demand quantity that exceeds supply quantity and supply quantity that falls short of demand quantity: QD > QS iff [wikipedia.org] QS < QD.

        • A horrible supply problem such as shipping thousands of units to retailers where there is no demand rather than to retailers where there is demand would certainly explain the conflicting anecdotes of some posters claiming that units are just collecting dust on the shelves while other posters claim that no one can find them in stock.
        • We've got tons of 360's... All the samsclub's have a large number of the $399 bundles.
    • MS meant the new box to make inroads in Japan. They did advertise, that's just wrong anecdotal information on your part. The first XBox died in Japan and they wanted to do something to break into that market, no question.

      "Since the launch of the original Xbox in 2002, there was one thing that we have consistently said: Microsoft will inevitably succeed in Japan."
      -- Takahashi Sensui, Microsoft Japan's Xbox division manager

      From this Boston.com article [boston.com]:

      "A major part of Xbox's troubles have stemmed from th

    • No standing in line @ Costco now... perhaps the shortage was to supply enough units to Costco/Sam's.
  • " 1 Million 360s a Month By Year's End"
    Hmmm... A normal month only has 7200 360s in it, hows that going to work?
  • ...of those million units will be defective? Over the last two weeks, four of my co-workers bought XBOX360s. Three of them needed to be returned.
    • I know five people, including myself, who have had to RMA their 360s. My 360 is in repair right now, actually. I think the quote was 2-3% of the units were defective. That means if 1,000,000 a month are produced, 20,000 to 30,000 units will be defective.

      This just in, Microsoft now the biggest employer in McAllen, TX.

  • XBox 360 Production Schedule, 2006 (Score:4, Funny)

    by menace3society ( 768451 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @12:57PM (#15166018)
    April: 1
    May: 2
    June: 3
    July: 4
    August: 5
    September: 7 (kickin' into overdrive)
    October: 10
    Nover: 12
    December: 1,000,000

    Good plan.

  • *Yawn* (Score:3, Insightful)

    by oGMo ( 379 ) on Thursday April 20, 2006 @01:17PM (#15166229)

    The PS2 sold just shy of a million on opening weekend [wikipedia.org]. Just in Japan. And 10,000,000 in 13 months.

    I think we already see how the dominance in this generation is going to play out (unless Sony prices themselves out of the market); Nintendo's not claiming it (by design) and Microsoft can't reach it (by ineptitude)

    However, they're still important... having 3 competing consoles last generation was the best thing for customers everywhere; just remember the pre-E3 price wars. Competition keeps companies on their toes.

  • I wish the games would now pick up - both in terms of quantity & quality. I'm starting to buy XBox Live games now due to the lack of enough good stuff available. There were what, 13 games at launch, and only around 20 now, almost 6 months later? What happened to all of the lead time the developers had?
  • I'd take this "news" with a day-long immersion in the Dead Sea, but as reported on a Spanish news site's forum [meristation.com] and attributed to "Adam McLoryan" of Microsoft:

    The 360 will see a ~$100 price drop come October.
    (In response to PS3 online), Xbox Live's price will be reduced, possibly made entirely free thanks to sponsorship and promotion.
    (In response to NDS's online play), a new for-kids version of Xbox Live will be created, with a kid-centric dashboard.

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