Microsoft promises an end to Xbox 360 shortages
Living up to the earlier promise that anyone will be able to walk into a store and pick up an Xbox 360, Microsoft has announced that beginning this week, retail shipments of the console will be twice or three times higher than at present.
Microsoft has announced that, beginning this week, retail shipments of the console will be twice or three times higher than at present.
The company had previously said that anyone will be able to walk into a store and pick up an Xbox 360 within four to six weeks of the DICE Summit in mid February.
It would appear that any component issues clogging up the production of the world's first next-generation console have now been completely ironed out, and the console ought to be readily available in all territories within a matter of weeks.
"With component supplies in full production and third manufacturing partner Celestica Inc. now producing the next-generation console along with partners Wistron Corp. and Flextronics Corp., Microsoft is producing more Xbox 360 consoles than ever," the company stated.
The much publicised stock shortages have plagued the company since the launch of the console in November 2005, and its impact on the wider industry was heavily touted by a number of publishers as a reason for lower than expected software sales and a general lack of consumer spending, during what is traditionally the busiest period of the year for the games industry.
Speaking at the recent DICE Summit, Xbox boss Peter Moore had stated that an end to the issues was very much in sight, although industry watchers remained sceptical in the light of renewed reports of manufacturing problems for the machine.
If the production run is in fact at the peak Microsoft now claims, retailers, publishers and consumers ought to be considerably happier in the coming months, and Microsoft will be on-track to gain the market lead it so desperately wanted before Sony launches the PS3.
To coincide with the positive production run news, Microsoft announced that the console will have 80 full-price games available by June, as well as several new additions to the Xbox Live Arcade, such as Street Fighter II: Hyper Fighting, the Riverbelle sponsored Texas Hold 'Em Poker, and a conversion of Uno, the board game.
New content for the console launch titles will also be made available for download via the thriving Xbox Live Marketplace, including new cars and achievements for Project Gotham Racing 3, multiplayer maps for Perfect Dark Zero, online cooperative functionality and new costumes for Kameo. Future titles to receive additional downloadable content include Battlefield 2: Modern Combat- a demo for which is on the way, and The Elder Scrolls IV: Oblivion, which will receive a Horse Armour pack.
Xbox boss Peter Moore commented: "Today we have turned a major corner. With more consoles on their way to retail, 80 games available by June, and new content and experiences coming to Xbox Live all the time, there has never been a better time to own an Xbox 360."