Report: Xbox 360 in danger of becoming distant third
- August 01, 2007 08:01 AM PST
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A new report released on Tuesday by DFC Intelligence suggests that if Xbox 360 sales don't pick up, Microsoft will likely blow its one year lead in the industry and become a distant third in the console war behind Nintendo and Sony respectively.
"So far in 2007, the news from the Xbox 360 front has not been encouraging," states the report. "If Halo 3 and other products fail to drive Xbox 360 sales, the system will soon flirt with numerous unsavory scenarios, the worst of which is the danger of becoming a distant third in the video game market share battle."
According to DFC, Microsoft has shipped 1 million Xbox 360s so far this year. By comparison, Nintendo has shipped 6 million Wii units followed by Sony's 4 million PS3 units not including systems already shipped. The report says "if consumers are not lining up to buy an Xbox 360 this holiday, Microsoft clearly has problems."
It added: "So far in 2007 it is safe to say that the market has followed what we called the Nintendo Best Case Scenario... In terms of installed base it looks like the PS3 will be in third place until at least mid-2008."
The report comes as Microsoft declared record losses this year due to a costly $1 billion warranty extension for excessive Xbox 360 hardware issues. Microsoft CEO Steve Ballmer called the problems "painful" but that his company will be "world-class" with its hardware moving forward.
See also: Six Reasons The Xbox 360 Is in Trouble
I'm betting Sony is pleased with the constant influx of bad Microsoft news being that the former took the brunt of it over the last year. In all seriousness though, will Microsoft have another chance if this holiday doesn't live up to expectations despite the 360's impressive line up? The time is now!
