Gamesindustry.biz on microsofts game plan

[jvd]

Q: How many games are in the works?
A: Peter Moore, corporate vice president at Microsoft, says there will be 25 to 30 launch titles this fall (within 45 days of the launch) and there are 160 games in the works. Confirmed titles include Microsoft's Kameo: Elements of Power and Perfect Dark Zero. Others include Epic's Gears of War, Activision's Call of Duty 2, Take-Two's NBA2K6 and Ubisoft's Ghost Recon 3. There are unconfirmed reports that Microsoft will refashion Halo 2 to run on the Xbox 360. Game developers have had software development kits for over a year, and Microsoft has shipped more than 4,000 development kits.

25-30 games with in 45 days is a nice launch window , it be nice if they could get out more but if the nov 15 date we have in the work pc is right then that would put us on dec 30th for the 30th game


http://www.gamesindustry.biz/content_page.php?aid=9120

 

[jvd]

When the Xbox debuted in 2001, Microsoft was losing $125 on every machine. It never recovered from that money-losing start

so the xbox was 425$ at launch ... outch haha

 

[Wunderchu]

thanks for the heads up .... I didn't notice this article before



as you say.... $125 loss per console .. ouch

 

[jvd]

Answer: The lesson of the last round was clear. Microsoft launched the Xbox in November, 2001, about 20 months after Sony launched the PlayStation 2. By the time Microsoft sold 1.5 million units, Sony had sold 20 million.

this was also interesting .

Sony had a 20 month lead (well over a year and a half ) and a 18.5 million unit lead ... that would def keep the momentum in sonys favor

.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research, estimates Microsoft will be able to ship 1.8 million to 2.4 million units this year if it executes worldwide.

Hmm i'm hoping its alot more than that . Unless he is talking about per market . 1.8-2.4 for each of the 3 wouldn't be so bad. WOuld give about 6 million world wide or so .. still not as many as i would like , would like to see 10 million total world wide

 

[ERP]

Depends how many they can manufacture.

 

[Wunderchu]

Depends how many they can manufacture.

ya ..... the buzz I've been reading when ppl have posted about pre-orders [i.e.: jvd's post: ( http://www.beyond3d.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=23456 )], is that many local stores like GameStop/EB stores have already exceeded ~30 pre-orders for Xbox 360, even though it's still 5 months before launch ........ IMO, if the supply was there, Xbox 360 could easily break 3 million sales worldwide by the end of 2005

 

[jpr27]

Many people may opt to buy the Xbox 360 (well except with Japan I think that will be more gradual). If they indeed have 25-30 games available at launch it could also help get the most out of not only the launch but the sales over holiday season.

I agree with ERP and think MS will have to make sure to keep the Xbox 360's manufacturing at full speed because it would actually hurt MS if they cant keep up with demand especially for the holiday season. (Not to mention making people wait means giving them the option of possibly waiting on the PS3) After December people might be looking to the PS3 as a viable option and hold out until its release (Those who have not already decided to buy one already). Not to mention that Sony will have their marketing campaign in full effect as well

If MS can put out a strong release through the holiday season it "may" give them a good start on Sony. On the other hand, if they cant keep up with demand or their game selection is not strong, then it could be another uphill battle against Sony and the early release (as an advantage) would not make a huge difference.

But then again its the games that can make the biggest difference anyway

 

[Teasy]

so the xbox was 425$ at launch ... outch haha

Makes me wonder what 360 willl cost at launch, $500?, more?

 

[DuckThor Evil]

.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research, estimates Microsoft will be able to ship 1.8 million to 2.4 million units this year if it executes worldwide.

Hmm i'm hoping its alot more than that . Unless he is talking about per market . 1.8-2.4 for each of the 3 wouldn't be so bad. WOuld give about 6 million world wide or so .. still not as many as i would like , would like to see 10 million total world wide

Come on... We are talking about less than 2 months here.

 

[jvd]

hehe but i think they can sell the systems. We have all the games playing on the xbox (i downloaded the hd videos and whatever else looked good ) and we keep getting more and more people coming in . I just gave the discs to people in other stores too so they can start driving more to the store . We are at 68 reserves on the system. I think they really could sell alot more than that

 

[Titanio]

.J. McNealy, an analyst at American Technology Research, estimates Microsoft will be able to ship 1.8 million to 2.4 million units this year if it executes worldwide.

Hmm i'm hoping its alot more than that . Unless he is talking about per market . 1.8-2.4 for each of the 3 wouldn't be so bad. WOuld give about 6 million world wide or so .. still not as many as i would like , would like to see 10 million total world wide

They're talking about the calendar year, you know? MS wouldn't sell anything like 6 or 10m units worldwide in a couple of months! 1.8-2.4m sounds about right, maybe up to 3m.