Microsoft Corp will delay the introduction of Xbox, its first video-game console, by a week to Nov. 15 from Nov. 8, becoming the latest game maker to scale back plans for unveiling a new machine.
Microsoft will meet its forecast for sales of US$1 million to US$1.5 million Xbox consoles by year-end, Senior Vice President Robbie Bach said. He declined to comment on how many units will be available the day the device goes on sale. Microsoft had forecast first-day shipments of 600,000 to 800,000 units.
Xbox, priced at US$299, will challenge Nintendo Co's GameCube, scheduled to go on sale on Nov. 18, and Sony Corp's PlayStation2, which hit US stores last year. Delaying the introduction gives Microsoft, the largest software maker, more time for manufacturing, analysts said. More than 50 percent of game sales typically occur during the holiday season.
"Pushing it back probably solidifies their launch numbers," said Miguel Iribarren, an analyst with Wedbush Morgan Securities.
Bach declined to give a specific reason for the delay.
"It's not any one thing," he said in an interview. "We want the first weekend to be a great event for consumers, and moving it to Nov. 15 is a way to ensure that."
Delays in the game industry are frequent. Nintendo, which originally planned to introduce GameCube Nov. 5, last month pushed it back two weeks. Sony last year shipped fewer than half of the 2 million PlayStation2 units it originally planned.
Game executives such as Take-Two Interactive Software Inc's Paul Eibeler had speculated this week that Microsoft might miss its targets for first-day shipments as it ramps up production.
Microsoft, based in Redmond, Washington, earlier delayed the Xbox introduction in Japan to next year to focus on the US.
Microsoft must now prove that it can meet its goal of providing 1 million or more units by year's end, said James Lin, an analyst with Jefferies & Co.
"Only time will tell," he said. "It's a blow to the psychology, but if they ship the million units, the reputation will be restored."
Following the introduction, Microsoft plans to provide retailers more than 100,000 units weekly until year's end, Bach said.
Retailers said the Xbox delay probably won't affect sales.
"We're not concerned because it's still before the holidays," said Maureen O'Connell, chief financial officer at Barnes & Noble Inc, which runs Babbage's game shops. "Demand is always in excess of supply at the launch."
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