kyleb said:
Damn, that looks pretty bad when compared to their up to 3 million within 90 days that they were talking up at launch.
Yes, they were aiming for 2.75M-3M units in the
first 90 days. But they did revise this fairly quickly once production issues were noted.
That said, I think this looks pretty good. Production issues aside they have exceeded 3M within 150 days. MS has also opened a third assembly plant and has ordered that the current plants ramp up even more.
Finally, and frequently overlooked, is that coupled with the initial 3M in 90 days estimate was the fiscal year (ending 30 June) estimate of 4.5M-5.5M. They are still on pace for 5M-5.5M -- so even with production issues and missing the 90 day estimate, they are still on course to meet their fiscal year goals.
So the glass being half empty is MS missed their 90 day goal by 60 days... the glass being half full is production issues and PR issues aside, they are well on pace for their original fiscal year goals and production has ramped up nicely. Of course it is now up to MS to provide the software to be a spoiler. Best case scenario is the PS3 will be fairly limited come the holidays. MS will have flooded the shelves with 360 hardware. They need a number of the new IPs they are gambling on (Viva Pinata, Gears of War, Mass Effect, Too Human, Crackdown, Blue Dragon... toss in Lost Planet) to be really good and to get a number of other quality titles out the door (Forza 2? Fable 2?) all the while making sure Madden and games like BiA3 and MoH play just as well on their platform. 2006 is an important push year for MS, as is 2007 when we will see the first 360-centric games/engines. MS needs to avoid the software and hardware issues they had at launch if they wish to keep production high and those storehouses empty. Sony is going to sell hardware and software, the question is can MS make some progress.
5M units come the end of June would be progress.
