High Demand Expected for Xbox 360

Although a warning in October that initial Xbox 360 sales may not meet industry expectations sparked outlandish rumors claiming Microsoft would purposely stifle supplies to ensure inventory sold out, the Redmond company now says it expects to sell up to 3 million new consoles in the first three months.

Bryan Lee, Xbox Chief Financial Officer, disclosed the estimate at the Harris Nesbitt Media & Entertainment Conference in New York this week. Within 90 days, Microsoft has a target to sell between 2.75 million to 3 million Xbox 360s.

Those units, along with games and Xbox Live subscriptions should rake in about $1.5 billion for Microsoft in that same period, Lee said. He added that Microsoft would have enough consoles on store shelves to meet most demand, following with a constant stream of shipments.

Microsoft is clearly expecting the console to sell fast and furiously for the holidays. The 90-day estimate is more than half of the total number of Xbox 360s the company plans to sell for its fiscal year ending June 2006, which is pegged at 4.5 to 5.5 million units.

The basic version of the Xbox 360 will run $299.99 USD, will a premium edition priced at $399.99 USD.

The core Xbox 360 model includes only the console without hard drive, wired controller and standard AV cable. For an extra $100, gamers receive a special console with metallic detailing, 20GB hard drive, wireless controller, remote control, headset, high-definition AV cable and an Xbox Live Silver membership.