Xbox delayed - it's official
Microsoft confirms one week delay for US launch
Microsoft today confirmed that it will be delaying the American launch of its Xbox console, although only by one week to November 15th. As Nintendo decided just last month to delay the US launch of their own GameCube, this means that the two consoles are once again scheduled to be going head to head, but with the GameCube now due three days after the Xbox instead of three days before it.
But while Nintendo are promising to have 700,000 Cubes ready for November 18th, Microsoft are still unsure as to whether or not they will meet their target of having at least 600,000 Xboxes on shelves for November 15th. "We've just moved on to not focusing on the day-one number", Xbox chief Robbie Bach confessed rather sheepishly. Earlier today reports emerged that Microsoft might have as few as 300,000 Xboxes ready for the original launch date of November 8th, and the shortages might have prompted the company to delay the console's release.
Looking beyond the launch, Microsoft have reassured retailers that they are still planning to ship more than a million Xboxes by the end of the year, with over 100,000 new consoles expected to show up on store shelves each week. Of course, with the GameCube having a disappointing debut in Japan and America in danger of slipping into recession following the recent terrorist attacks, all of this may prove to be somewhat academic.